After the End (Under editing)
by HannApple3
Summary: (UNDER EDITING- won't update for a while) Have you ever wondered what happens after the end of The Blood of Olympus? Well here is my version of what happens after the end, with Leo and Calypso. This is my first fanfiction. Please review... (UNDER EDITING- won't update for a while)
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

 **Leo Valdez POV**

They were soaring, Calypso on his back, shrieking in delight, arms locked around Leo's waist. She leaned forward against his warm back and shivered as wind blasted into her face and caused her caramel hair to fly out behind her. Clutching him tightly, she pressed her lips against his right ear.

"I love you Leo Valdez," she whispered. "I love you, I love you."

She hadn't expected Leo to hear her, her murmurs drowning out with the howling wind, but Leo heard her, and grinned, his chest swelling, and laughed nervously.

"I love you sunshine. I love you more than love itself." Leo wasn't the type to just throw those words around, but he meant it. Oh gods, he meant it. He was completely and utterly infatuated.

Festus creaked underneath them, and faltered, momentarily dropping and swerving to the side, before regaining balance.

"Man, you ain't gonna last are you Festus?" Leo muttered. "Sorry sunshine, I'm gonna have to land somewhere soon. Gotta repair him, before he goes hurling us to our deaths."

Leo should have known better than to jinx it, because as soon as the words left his mouth, Festus jerked to the side and sent Leo and Calypso into a freefall.

"HOLY MOTHER OF ZEUS!" Leo screamed as he fell, desperately clutching the air. "CALYPSO!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Man, that girl knew how to do soprano. Her arms and legs were flailing uselessly around her, her eyes wild as the racing air forced tears out of them. Leo reached out his arm and grabbed hers, thinking _I rescue her, then I fall to my death. Thanks a lot fates._ Leo would have given anything to smack those stupid grannies with his five pound mallet.

Then… WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

Festus managed to capture Leo in one of his claws and flew back upwards, jerking Leo and Calypso's arm with him. Calypso groaned in pain, and Leo whipped his head around to look at her. Her caramel hair was flying behind her, and even grimacing in pain, Leo thought she was beautiful.

"I think I just dislocated my arm."

Leo pulled Calypso up to get a better hold of her, and she winced and yelped in pain.

"I'm sorry," he said to her. "I didn't mean to grab your arm back there. We'll land, and I'll try to get your arm sorted out." Whimpering, Calypso nodded and buried her face into the crook of Leo's neck.

~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_

Festus landed not long after. Leo stepped out of Festus' clutch and gently laid Calypso onto the ground, before looking around.

"Wow," he muttered. "This looks like a hurricane ran through it.

"Not a hurricane," Calypso told him from where she was attempting to sit up without moving her arm around too much, wincing when she did. "Typhoon. I remember seeing this place."

Confused, Leo turned her way again.

"I thought you haven't been off your island in like a gajillion years ago. How can you remember this place?"

"Lord Hephaestus actually. He came to my island to talk to Perc…"she caught herself. "Er, he came and showed us what had happened when Percy caused an explosion that woke Typhoon. If I remember correctly, this place is called…"

"Mt St Helens," Leo finished for her. "Annabeth told me this story on the Argo II. She and Percy were sent here on an errand for my father. They were finding out what happened to ONE OF HIS FORGES! CALYPSO! ONE OF MY FATHER'S FORGES IS HERE!"

"What?" she said, probably confused about why he was so worked up.

"Annabeth said this place was infested with some sort of creature. Can't remember. Wasn't really paying attention."

"Leo…" Calypso muttered, rising to her feet, but Leo didn't register. He was too busy rambling.

"Telephones? Tele… Telegrams? I dunno something like that.

 _Telekhines,_ a new voice answered in a raspy voice that made Calypso wince.

"Yeah, that's it, but that's not the point, forge means metal, metal means… wait who said that?"

Too late, he realised…

Laughter erupted from behind Leo, and he turned around. What he saw shocked him. He was expecting something horrible, something that made him go weak at the knees, a body as terrifying as its voice, but what he faced were… _dog mermaids?_

 _So this is the hero of Olympus,_ it stated, walking, or rather wiggling towards Leo. _You have caused us much trouble youngling. Personally, I don't see what the fuss it all ab…_

Leo burst out laughing. The telekhine stopped in its tracks, taken aback.

 _What are you…?_

"You look stupid," Leo stated. "What are you supposed to be? You're like a mix of 'The Little Mermaid' and '101 Dalmatians'. With a little bit of 'The Frog Prince' maybe. Its frickin' hilarious man."

The telekhine blinked.

"Leo…" Calypso warned him from behind.

Its nostrils enlarged to twice the size. Shock was replaced with anger.

 _YOU DARE?! I WILL HAVE YOUR SKULL CRUSHED A THOUSAND TIMES IN THE NAME OF MOTHER… SPLAT!_

Leo scrambled back as a boulder fell right where the telekhine was standing was a boulder about the size of Leo, which is to say not too big. Nevertheless, the monster exploded into yellow dust underneath. Leo leaned forward to examine better.

"Crushed huh?" Leo muttered. "Interesting choice of words."

"Friends!"

Leo looked up and saw Tyson sprinting up the mountain with Percy's hellhound Mrs O'Leary bounding after him.

"Tyson! Hey man!"

Tyson rammed into Leo, and all the air was knocked out of his lungs at once. Mrs O'Leary settled for licking his face and wagging his tail, which Calypso had to dodge. Leo stood, straightened his shirt and tried to look dignified. He glanced at Calypso and flashed a grin before turning to Tyson.

"Leo! Yay! You are alive! Jason said that Gaea killed you dead!"

Leo blinked.

"Uhh, I did." he said it more like a question, but Tyson didn't hear him.

"Friends need help? Lord Hephaestus told me to come here to help."

"Hephaestus told you what?"

"Yes, he said: Go to the jail of Typhoon and return the lost heroes." Tyson told Leo, with a perfect imitation of Hephaestus' raspy, booming voice. It creeped Leo out.

"We aren't lost, we are just…"

"Stranded," Calypso stepped in. "Plus the malfunctioning dragon."

"Pretty. Pretty girl," Tyson told her. She blushed, and Leo kissed her cheek.

"Tyson, this is Calypso. Calypso, Tyson, Percy's…"

"Brother. I know. Percy has told me stories. You were lost in the Labyrinth right?"

"We were not lost," he grumbled, "Just went the wrong way."

"Uh huh."

"You are Calypso. Yes Percy has told me stories too! You got angry in Tartarus."

"I… I got angry in Tartarus? I'm not… I think you have mistaken me, young cyclops. I haven't seen Tartarus before."

Leo cleared his throat to get their attention.

"What he means is that when Annabeth and Percy fell into Tartarus…"

"PERCY FELL INTO TARTARUS?!"

Leo tried not to be bothered about how Calypso only mentioned Percy's name.

"Well… yeah… anyway, they met some Arai or something and one way or another, Annabeth got the curse you gave or something. I dunno. Something about abandoning or jealousy?

"What? I…" her expression became dark. "What have I done?"

"It's cool, they survived. I mean they can survive anything. I'm sure Percy and Annabeth won't hold it against you. They're not the type to hold a grudge."

Calypso nodded, but she still looked guilt stricken. He decided to change the subject, hoping Calypso would forget about it.

"Come on Tyson. Help me find some celestial bronze. I need to repair my dragon. The sooner we do that, and the sooner we can fix Calypso's arm and leave."

"I brought ambrosia," Tyson grinned proudly, showing off his yellow teeth. "You can have it. Fix your arm."

Leo knelt down beside her, laying her down.

"I hope it works. You're not a halfblood."

"God, Titan, does it matter?"

"But you're immortal. Would it work?"

"One way to find out." Calypso ripped a corner of the godly food and popped it into her mouth. Her arm socket popped back into place a moment after, and she started with a painful yelp. She winced and brought her knee up to where Leo least appreciated it.

"OWWWWWWWW!" Leo screamed in a very unmanly way.

"Sorry," she murmured, cautiously moving her arm.

"Why me?" he squeaked. "First Piper! Now you! Curse you fates!"

"Oh you poor baby."

Leo grinned. Alright then soldiers! Celestial bronze! Let's hop to it!


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

 **Leo Valdez POV**

Repairing a dragon took a long time, longer than Leo expected, and they ended up staying the night. Leo fixed them all up with tofu tacos, occasionally tossing pieces of taco shell towards Mrs O'Leary. Turns out, hellhounds despised tofu patties. Leo couldn't help but wonder. When was the last time he settled to a packet of fonzies? 3 months? Maybe half a year? When night came, Tyson curled up on top of Mrs O'Leary, and between the two of them snoring like a truck, Leo and Calypso hardly closed their eyes. Both of them were lying on the ground. Leo was using his army jacket as a pillow, and Calypso was resting her head at the crook of Leo's neck, and sighing contently. Leo felt a little bad. First day off her island in thousands of years and the first place he brings her is a dumpster, once a prison to the most terrifying, destructive creature that ever walked the planet. After he dislocated her arm of course. Leo rocked at first dates.

By early afternoon, Leo and Tyson fixed Festus up, they were all ready to go. Mrs O'Leary couldn't follow, and had to shadow travel back to camp. Tyson and Mrs O'Leary exchanged a tearful goodbye. Tyson insisted that he stayed with Leo and Calypso and would meet her back at camp with a bag of dog biscuits. Soon, everyone was strapped up, and in the air for the second time. If the first time was beginner's luck, he shuddered to think what this trip would bring.

Surprisingly, the trip went pretty well… until they stopped at a petrol station in Kansas. To be fair, Washington to Kansas was a decent distance that they had travelled in half a day without interruptions. With luck, they should be able to reach New York by late morning. _With luck,_ Leo thought, _which demigods would quite often fall short of._

It was no surprise that Festus had landed in a petrol station. _Can you blame me?_ He told Leo. _I like the smell of fuel and malfunctioning engines billowing out smoke._

It was no surprise to them when a French dude with weird eyes came to kick them out, yelling at them wildly with his comical accent.

It was also no surprise when the French dude just so happened to be the Manticore.

 _Demigod luck,_ Leo told himself. _Can't get enough of it._

"Leo Valdez," he spat at him, like he couldn't think of a worse insult. He looked behind him.

"Oh my dear Calypso," he purred "Turned against your father by those treacherous gods, I see. Not that I blame you of course. He's not very polite. Very bossy." He turned again.

"A Cyclops." He stated. "A friend of Percy _JJJJackson_ no less." He dragged his _J_ 's in a way that made Leo bite down on his tongue to avoid laughing.

"Of course Percy Jackson. Everyone knows Percy Jackson. He's just as bad as freaking Hercules. Just wait 'till Hollywood gets on his tail"

"Foul company." He said, sighing. "I suppose I'll have to kill you."

"You can try," Calypso stated dryly.

Almost as fast as Leo could blink, poisoned spikes were hurled his way. With a yelp, he jumped out of the way. Leo lobbed fireballs back at him and Tyson threw punches, but both efforts only seemed to annoy him.

"STOP!" Calypso yelled. Instantly, everyone stopped. Leo halted, mid-throw, the Manticore stopped, mid-pounce, and Tyson froze, mid-sneeze.

"Go kill yourself," she ordered. Instantly, the manticore stabbed is stomach with his own spike, and exploded into monster dust.

"Not you two!" Calypso hastily screamed as Leo summoned a mallet from his tool belt and almost proceeded in smashing his brains in. Sheepish, Leo put the mallet back into the tool belt.

"Since when could you charmspeak?" Leo asked. His girlfriend was getting cooler by the minute.

"You know of charmspeak?" she asked.

"Well, yeah. I've got this friend. Daughter of Aphrodite."

"Hmph. Don't really like the goddess. So full of herself."

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

"Charmspeak?" Leo asked again.

"Leo, I'm a sorceress. Of course I can charmspeak," she sighed. Hey, it seemed a legitimate question to him. He totally forgot that Calypso was a sorceress. He vaguely remembered Frank reading about it when he washed up in Malta, but she seemed like a normal girl to her.

"Well then, let's stay the night, take flight tomorrow morning."

"Yes," Tyson exclaimed. "Eat now?"

"Eat now," Leo agreed.

~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_

Tyson decided to stay outside with Festus so he ' _wouldn't get lonely'_ , so Calypso and Leo walked into the petrol station, with no money. They were planning to play beat up homeless, starving kids. Turns out, he didn't have to. Leo walked up to the cashier and did a double take.

"Apollo?"

The cashier looked up and flashed a smile, showing of startling white teeth.

"Ah, well if it isn't for Leo Valdez. You have definitely stirred up trouble for someone so small and scrawny. Everyone thinks you're dead."

"Um,"

"Not to worry. I'm sure you'll set things right?"

"Uh, sure? Now Lord Apollo…"

"And as for me," Apollo grinned, "I have mastered the Valdezinator!"

"The what?" Calypso asked incredulously, laughter dancing in her eyes.

"This!" Apollo gestured proudly to the piece of machinery that looked suspiciously like a phonograph. Apollo took it in his hands and played with the knobs until music started playing. Leo stared at it. He started swaying to the music, closing his eyes, smiling like an idiot, unable to help himself. Calypso looked at him, chuckling at his stupid behaviour. _Of course she wouldn't be affected,_ Leo thought. _She's a sorceress._

The song ended.

"Alas," Apollo sighed. "It only plays one song. But no matter. It is still beautiful."

"That… That's my song," Calypso frowned in confusion. "How…"

Leo tried shuffling away to avoid embarrassment, his face red. Calypso's music had been fresh in his mind when he made the instrument. He didn't know he programmed it to only play that song. Now it was going to bite him in the back with humiliation.

Calypso turned to Leo, eyebrows raised in amusement.

"Explain?"

Leo stuttered something about Artemis and a bargaining chip.

"But why is it playing my song?"

Leo anxiously changed the subject.

"Look Lord Apollo, we need food and supplies. Got any? Also, what are you doing here?"

"You _are_ in a convenience store."

"Right."

"And to answer your other question, I may or may not need your help with something. You see… I'm not really here. I'm captured, and I need rescuing. Just thought I'd let you know. You'll know what I'm talking about in camp. Also…"

Apollo vanished. Leo turned to Calypso, who was looking back at him.

"We have to get to camp, fast."

"Right. Wait a minute."

Leo turned away and grabbed handfuls of chips and lollies.

"Okay. Ready."


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

 **Calypso POV**

"So we just fly in and see who notices us?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"No one will shoot us down?"

"Of course not… I think…"

"You think?"

"Like 65% sure."

"That's reassuring."

"We'll be fine."

Calypso glanced back warily. She wasn't really worried about being shot out of the sky. She was worried about facing Percy after all these years, especially since she cursed his girlfriend. Percy must hate her.

In the distance, a conch horn was sounded, and Calypso noticed several campers gather near what looked like volleyball courts, including a group armed for archery. They were aiming their bows at Festus, obviously thinking they were under attack.

 _So much for not being shot out of the sky._

Festus swerved to the side to avoid the first arrow. Leo waved his arms around, while Tyson shouted for the Apollo campers to stand down once they got within earshot. Looking confused, they lowered their bows and frowned up at them. As they got closer to the ground, the confusion below them slowly turned to excitement as they apparently recognised Leo. When they landed and unfastened themselves, a high pitched scream was heard from somewhere near the back of the crowd. Leo turned just before he was tackled to the ground. Calypso couldn't help but chuckle at this.

"LEO FREAKING VALDEZ! OH MY GODS LEO!"

Leo grunted as his back hit the uneven ground, and the air was knocked out of his lungs.

"Nice to see you too Beauty Queen. Ow! Ribs! Ow!"

Calypso studied the girl. She had choppy brown hair, braided in a messy plait to one side of her shoulder, like it was a rushed job, but she managed to pull it off. Her eyes seemed to change colour with the light. _A daughter of Aphrodite,_ Calypso mused. Probably the one with the charmspeak that Leo had spoken of earlier. The girl decided to get off of Leo, and while he brushed his now dirt caked jeans, the girl noticed Calypso standing there, staring at her. She gave her a sly, knowing grin.

"Oooh, you must be Calypso," she stated, turning to wink at Leo. "Leo has talked a lot about you."

Calypso smirked and turned to Leo, who was of course, all red. Any jealousy she had felt before melted away. He locked eyes with someone behind her, and she turned around.

"Chiron. Hi. Uhh… I'm back."

"Indeed my boy. I am glad you are. I must hear your story, where you have been.

"Chiron," Calypso lowered her head in respect. Chiron noticed her.

"My dear! Calypso! It's wonderful to see you again."

She looked at Leo, who was frowning.

"You two know each other?"

"Indeed," Chiron told him. "Come with me to the Big House."

Leo gave her a puzzling look.

Calypso stuck out her tongue at him and followed.

~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O

 **Leo Valdez's POV**

"So where's Jason?" Leo asked Piper. Chiron answered for her.

"Jason is on kitchen duty. The patrol harpies caught him sneaking off to the Aphrodite cabin a few hours past curfew. Quite lucky he wasn't ripped to shreds."

"Jason… Sneaking… but Jason doesn't…" he turned to Piper, wiggling his eyebrows. "Aphrodite cabin huh?"

"Shut up!" she hissed.

Leo looked at the Big House. It looked brand new. Fresh paint, bright and welcoming, new windows, widened doorway. Leo hadn't realised it before, but the whole camp looked new. He looked around. Even the Ares cabin had its ugly red paint redone.

"Wow, camp renovation?"

"Camp restoration actually. Most of the camp was destroyed from the war with Gae..."

"Queen Dirt Face. Yeah, I remember. You guys really cleaned up fast."

Chiron looked disturbed.

"Leo, camp took six months to rebuild."

Leo stopped short.

"Six months? How…"

Chiron looked back in concern.

"Leo, the war with Gaea ended about a year ago. Were you not aware…"

"No…," his expression turning grey. "But…"

Piper put her arm around Leo comfortingly.

"It doesn't matter Leo," Piper said. "What matters is that you are back. That's all have been praying for."

"Yeah… yeah ok." Leo's sullen look changed back to a cheeky grin as they walked inside the Big House. "Ok, everyone gather around. Uncle Leo has some stories to tell.

~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O

Leo was just getting to the part when they fought the manticore, when Jason barged into the room, and he didn't look happy.

"Where is he?!" He growled.

He stared at Leo with those scary eyes through is bronze rimmed glasses. And made a growling sound from the back of his throat. Definitely NOT what Leo had expected from his best friend.

"OH MY GODS LEO!" Jason boomed, in a way that made Leo want to pee in his pants. Jason stomped right up to him and decked him in the face. Leo cried out.

"What the _Hades_ , man?" he moaned, cradling his cheek. Jason prodded his chest with his finger in a threatening way. "You pull off that stunt again, and you are _dead_. Got it? _You're dead_." Leo couldn't stand it anymore. He pounced on Jason, knocking his glasses onto the floor. Jason embraced him. He took a shake breath. He shook his head, probably thinking he was delusional. Leo didn't blame him. It wasn't every day you saw your dead best friend.

"Leo… you stupid good for nothing, hot headed idiot! Didn't your mother ever tell you not to self-combust? You… you killed yourself Leo. Why? How… how are you even alive?"

"Physicians cure. Duh. We didn't go through all that trouble for _nothing_ you know. Besides. Didn't your mother ever tell you not to mess with piping hot stuff like me? Chill man, I'm _fine_."

Jason nodded and hugged Leo one more time.

"That was _not_ the welcome I was expecting," Leo muttered.

"But it was the one you deserved. Come on man, we have a lot to talk about.

~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O

That night, Leo had his first nightmare of the in a year. It started in Delos, where he had met Apollo and Artemis. "The snake," Apollo screamed at him. "It's the snake. The snake no longer just conquered Delphi, it has started to control it."

Leo tried to ask Apollo what he meant, but his voice didn't work. Apollo suddenly vanished, and Leo was suddenly in Rachel's cave. Rachel locked eyes with Leo and screamed.

"LEO! HELP!"

Rachel suddenly doubled over. Her eyes turned a glowing green, like she was going to sprout a prophecy. Something was wrong about it though. Rachel's body was jerking, and the light in her eyes flickered unstably. She spoke in a raspy voice.

"So this is Apollo's chosen hero? How pathetic. Do you really believe you can stop me, godling?"

Rachel seemed to gain control.

"Leo! It's Python! Ask Ella for the Prophecy! Delphi is in trouble!"

She gasped, and collapsed, still shaking, and still surrounded by a green aura.

Leo woke up with a start. He scrambled around for a drachma, finding one under his bunk. He locked the entrance to bunk 1-A, grabbed his torch, a glass of water, and created a rainbow. He threw in the drachma, and chanted.

" _Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Rachel Elizabeth Dare."_

What he saw shocked him. Rachel was is her Clarion Girl's Finishing School uniform, on the floor outside the school, screaming and clutching her head. Her father was crouched beside her, panicking, and stared in awe of the green mist surrounding her. Leo broke the connection. He was now aware of two things.

Rachel was in trouble

She needed his help


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

 **Calypso's POV**

Calypso lay in a bunk in the Big House. She was exhausted when she announced that she was going to sleep, but now, lying in the eerie darkness, she had never been more awake. Calypso was glad for the time to think. She was glad that Percy wasn't at camp. It gave her a little breathing space. She had learnt from Piper that he and Annabeth were only at camp for the summer. During the school year, they attended Goode high school together, went on dates whatever. In a month's time, they would come to spend their last summer here, before heading off to California to attend college in New Rome. Surprising herself, Calypso was okay with the fact that Percy was in love with someone else. She was happy for him.

She rolled over, snuggling deeper into her blanket. Something else was bothering her. Calypso was jealous of Piper's relationship with Leo. She knew it was stupid. Piper had another boyfriend, Jason. Yet when she threw her arm around Leo like it was the most natural thing in the world, she felt insanely angry. The thing was, for eons, jealousy was all she had known to feel. A guy would wash up to her island, keep her company, make her fall in love, and then leave her island to go back to his wife. For hundreds of years, all she would feel is jealousy, until another guy would come, only to reject her again. When she had seen the bond Leo shared with Piper, she immediately felt threatened.

Calypso strained her ears. She could faintly hear someone cursing in Ancient Greek, trudging through camp, kicking at rocks. She kicked off her covers, grabbed the nearest weapon, a celestial bronze dagger, and opened the door, trying not to creak the rusty hinges. She tip toed outside, raised her dagger, and froze.

"Leo," she hissed. "What are you doing here?"

"Needed air. Bad dream. Look, Rachel's in trouble."

"Rachel?" Calypso scowled. "Who's Rachel?"

"Oracle. Listen…" Leo gasped, out of breath, and continued. "Something is happening in Delphi. Something about a snake?"

"Python?"

"Yeah, how do you know?"

"Leo," Calypso told Leo, "Python is Apollo's nemesis. No one else would do such a thing. We have to tell Chiron."

"Yeah. Rachel told me to visit the harpy Ella. She managed to memorise prophecies from the Sibylline Books before they were destroyed.

"Sibylline Books?"

"A Roman book full of prophecies."

"Ahh, ok. But not now."

Leo wrapped his arms around Calypso and kissed her hair. She sighed in content, feeling warm, and happier than she'd been in a long time.

"Go to sleep Calypso. We'll deal with this tomorrow morning."

"Alright. You too ok?"

Calypso leaned up and kissed Leo, before heading back into the Big House.

~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O

"I'm telling you Chiron, she's in trouble. If we don't help her…"

"Yes my boy, I know, but we have to look further into this. Rushing will not help matters."

Calypso was sitting with Leo and Chiron in the rec room, watching the two argue.

"Sir," she asked timidly, "Leo told me something about Rachel telling him to confront the harpy Ella."

Chiron glanced at Leo sceptically, but eventually gave in.

"Alright. We will see what Ella has to say about this."

~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O

They found Ella watching Tyson in the armoury, tinkering with odds and ends, matching bits of metal together. Leo rushed up to him and gazed at his works.

"Impressive," he said, "But it would be so much cooler if the watch had a javelin mode too."

Tyson glanced back at him.

"Percy doesn't need a javelin. He has a pen sword. He needs a shield. Tyson will make another shield for Percy."

Leo nodded, grabbed a hammer and started shaping a piece of celestial bronze, totally forgetting what he was here for. Calypso glanced over at Ella, who was getting restless, staring at Leo and plucking at her red feathers. She started muttering to herself.

"Fire," she said. "Son of fire melts the chains, frees the one with endless strains. 1677, Fire of Rostock, accelerated city's economic decline at the end of the Hanseatic period. Page 91, Devastation of the 17th Century. Written by Galvin O'Connor"

Calypso stared at Ella incomprehensibly. Son of fire? Leo? She looked over at him. He was fitting his piece of metal onto Tyson's work, now resembling a watch.

"Um… Leo…" Calypso muttered, trying to get his attention

Finally, Leo looked over.

"What? Oh yeah. Um Tyson, can we like borrow Ella for… like five minutes?"

"Ella? Ok. Ella, follow friends. I will finish my watch shield for Percy."

Ella looked over at Leo and Calypso, and started to follow them out of the armoury. They sat down near a bench, Ella between the two.

"So Ella? Do you… like have a prophecy for me or something?"

"Prophecy?" Ella started plucking at her feathers again. "Yes, Ella can give you a prophecy."

"Cool," Leo said. "So let me just get a pen and paper…"

Calypso raised an eyebrow. She was about to ask Leo what exactly 'pen and paper' was but she noticed Ella looking around nervously. She sat silent, as Ella spoke.

"Around America, the seven unite

And withstand the rage of the goddess in white..."

Ella started muttering excerpts from a recipe book, before continuing.

"Three in the haven of ones their kind

Wrapped within Brooklyn, child of sea and mind

Two in California, where Rome burns bright

The snake in Delphi, the seven shall fight."

When she read the next line, she looked straight at Leo.

"Son of fire melts the chains

To free the one with endless strains"

She then turned to Calypso and recited.

"And the sorceress shall put the snake to sleep

And return her father to where he shall weep"

Calypso stared at the harpy. Was that Leo's prophecy? That was pretty dramatic. She looked up at Leo. He looked disturbed.

"Let's tell Chiron."

~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O

"Alright. Clearly, you were meant to go on this quest if you got a prophecy. Now boy, you must recite it for me. The wording is very important,"

Calypso watched as Leo took a breath.

" _Around America, the seven unite_

 _And withstand the rage of the goddess in white_

 _Three in the haven of ones their kind_

 _Wrapped within Brooklyn, child of sea and mind_

 _Two in California, where Rome burns bright_

 _The snake in Delphi, the seven shall fight_

 _Son of fire melts the chains_

 _To free the one with endless strains_

 _And the sorceress shall put the snake to sleep_

 _And return her father to where he shall weep"_


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

 **Leo Valdez's POV**

"I have to Chiron, even the prophecy states it."

"My boy, you already know that a quest with more than three halfbloods is very dangerous. You would have found this out during your quest in the Argo II. You encountered more dangers as seven than you would have as three, and now, you want to take Calypso, Jason and Piper with you to go find the rest? It is suicide. The matter is better resolved in a group of three."

"Chiron, you heard it yourself. The seven unite? You know we can't fight a prophecy. Annabeth says that it only makes matters worse."

"And what about Calypso? Don't tell me you just don't want to leave her behind."

"The prophecy did say something about a sorceress right? Calypso is like the only one here. It has to be her. Chiron, it makes sense."

"I can only hope you know what you're doing Leo. I can't stand you putting yourself in danger when you have just gotten back, but if you think it is absolutely necessary I will allow it."

"Thanks Chiron. We'll be fine."

"I certainly hope so my boy. I don't think I could stand it if you…"

Leo looked at Chiron.

"Don't worry. We'll come back. I promise."

Chiron gave Leo a grave look.

"Better not promise something that you are not sure of."

Chiron gave Leo one last stern look and went to break up a fight between the Ares kids and the visiting Mars kids. Something about killing a drakon?

~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O

Leo found Jason and Piper on the roof of the Zeus cabin, dangling their legs over, and chatting. When they saw Leo and Calypso, they grinned and called them up.

"What's up guys? Were you looking for us?" Jason asked.

"Um yeah. How do you peeps feel about a quest?"

Jason glanced at Leo and Calypso, then at Piper.

"Leo, what is the quest about?"

"Rachel is in trouble. Something possessed her. The snake, python actually. So we have to like, you know, send it to Tartarus or whatever, the works."

Piper scowled at Leo.

"So where does the water goddess come in?"

Leo stared at Piper. Piper started to look a bit uncomfortable. Leo still found that amusing, her being a daughter of Aphrodite.

"Pipes?" Jason asked. "What do you mean water goddess?"

"Um, I have been having dreams about a water goddess. She keeps telling me to surrender. I have no idea what she is talking about. She said that Python was destined to fall at the hands of honeyed words. Something like that. She doesn't want me on your side I guess."

Leo noticed Calypso was staring at Piper.

"You know, I have been having the same dreams," she said.

Piper looked at her.

"You know charmspeak?" she asked.

"Sure, all sorceress' do. Anyways, I know that goddess. Her name is Leucothea. Descendant of Ouranos. One of the sea goddesses. We were friends, before she was driven mad by Hera."

"Hera," Jason muttered. "It's always Hera."

Piper gave him a look, telling him to shut up, before returning her attention back to Calypso.

"Anyways. She has a spat going on with the Olympians. Turned bitter. It's no surprise she has sided with Python."

"Right," Piper said. "So you could be the charmspeaker too."

"I guess. The prophecy did say Python would be put to sleep by a sorceress."

Leo, who was watching the two girls, was getting very confused. He decided to butt in.

"Okaaaay, so I don't really get what you are saying, but we have a prophecy…"

"You have a prophecy?" Jason asked. "But I thought Delphi…"

"We got it from Ella," Leo said. He repeated the prophecy for Jason and Piper.

" _Around America, the seven unite_

 _And withstand the rage of the goddess in white_

 _Three in the haven of ones their kind_

 _Wrapped within Brooklyn, child of sea and mind_

 _Two in California, where Rome burns bright_

 _The snake in Delphi, the seven shall fight_

 _Son of fire melts the chains_

 _To free the one with endless strains_

 _And the sorceress shall put the snake to sleep_

 _And return her father to where he shall weep"_

There was a silence, before Piper spoke up.

"Well… I really hope I'm not the sorceress anymore. My father has already been through a lot. Nearly driven insane."

"Well, I can't say the same for my father," Calypso said. "I would like nothing better than to show him his place in the depths of hell."

Leo looked at Calypso.

"Who's your father?" he asked.

"Every good boyfriend would know who their girlfriend's father is, stupid. My father is Atlas."

"Oh, makes sense. I heard he has something against Percy, Annabeth and Thalia." Piper said.

"Yeah," Jason said. "Thalia told me Percy and Annabeth had to hold up his sky. Then Percy dropped it back on him. Something like that."

"Wow," Leo muttered. "Percy really has done just about everything there is."

Calypso looked really uncomfortable with all this Percy talk. Leo still really wanted to punch Percy.

"Alright. We'll do the quest. Do we even know where to start though?" Piper asked.

"Well," Leo stated. "The prophecy did say to unite the seven. That's a start. Also, I'm want to scare them. They'll think they're seeing a ghost. It's gonna be hilarious."

"Wow," Jason frowned. "They still think you're dead? Don't you think you should iris message then or something?"

"No! Are you kidding me? That will ruin the surprise."

"Alright. But don't blame me if their reactions aren't as welcoming as you'd expect it to be," Piper said. "Especially from Hazel and Frank. You buried them under a mountain of guilt."

"Um… sure. Don't worry. They'll be thrilled to see me.

"If you say so."

 _If they don't hate me…_ Leo thought.

They heard the lunch bell in the distance, and cabins started lining up. Piper and Leo groaned, before scrambling off the roof and rushing towards their respective cabins. Panting, Leo reached his cabin. Nyssa was smirking at him. Leo made a face at her before calling out….

"CABIN NINE! FALL IN!"

~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O

The next morning, Jason, Leo, Piper and Calypso were ready to head off to Brooklyn, being that it wasn't too far away.

"Ok," Leo said, looking back at the rest. "Everyone ready?"

He was hit by a chorus of yes' and yup's. He hopped into the minivan.

"I call shotgun!"

Jason got into the driver seat, being the oldest, apart from Calypso, who was of course, eons older. They decided that she shouldn't drive, being that she didn't know what automobiles were until a few days ago.

"Alright guys," Leo called out to the back. "Next stop, Brooklyn."


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

 **Piper McLean's POV**

Piper was glad when the two boys got into the front of the van and started chatting loudly about the importance of fonzies, totally ignoring the girls at the back. It gave Piper time to confront Calypso about whatever was bothering her. She saw a look of discomfort, and even dread when the conversation they had yesterday shifted to Percy. Piper could understand why Calypso was uncomfortable talking about Percy. She had heard about Percy washing up on her island, her falling in love with him, and him leaving her. She couldn't blame Percy. He had the world to save, and Annabeth to get back to, but she also couldn't help but feel sorry for Calypso. They fates were cruel. One thing Piper didn't get though, was the dread. Percy was an easy guy to get along with. He would crack really bad jokes (not as bad as Leo's) to ease tension, and was generally easy to hold a conversation with. She couldn't think of any reason why Calypso would dread seeing Percy again. Finally, her curiosity gave in.

"Hey," she said. "Can I ask you a question?"

Calypso looked over at her.

"Sure. What is it?"

"I was just wondering what you make of Percy. I mean you looked pretty nervous talking about him. I just wanted to know what was going on between you too."

Piper could almost see the mental walls going up.

"Is this supposed to be the start of a pep talk about what a horrible person I am?" Calypso snapped. "Are you trying to make me feel worse?"

Piper didn't know what she was talking about, but she knew that Calypso was hurting.

"Well," she said lightly, "I don't know about pep talks about horrible people. We can call this the start of girl gossip, you know, when we females spill out everything we know about boys. I'll go first."

She offered Calypso a grin. She could see Calypso's faint smile. _At least isn't as uptight as she was before_. Piper continued.

"Did you know that Jason sleeps with his hands behind his head? He doesn't want sleepy hair, so he combs it down and holds it in place when he sleeps. It's really cute actually."

Calypso snorted and looked Jason's way, before looking back at Piper.

"Well," Calypso said, "Leo has to sleep over a fireproof mat and a drenched blanket. I think you could imagine why."

Piper laughed.

"I can imagine that. I wonder what he dreams about at night. Now about Per…"

"We're heeeeeeeeeere!" Leo screamed from the front, and pointed at P J Clarke's, where Percy and Annabeth sat on a table on the other side of the window, leaning on their elbows and talking to each other. She looked closer. They looked horrible. They had scratches and nicks all over their faces and arms. _Who knows what they have been up to?_ She looked over at Calypso, who was frozen next to her.

"Eww! They're in love!" Leo moaned, covering his eyes, and Piper giggled. Calypso stayed stiff though.

"Come on guys, let's get out of the van. It's too stuffy," Jason called. They all got out and headed for the restaurant

~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O

When they opened the door, a little bell rang. Piper grinned as Percy looked up, and fell off his chair. Annabeth looked down at him and burst out laughing. The whole restaurant was looking at Percy, who was on his butt. Sheepishly, he got up, dusted himself off, strode over to Leo and whacked him on the back of the head.

"What the Hades man!" He screamed, and gave him a bear hug. Annabeth, who just saw Leo ran over, ripped Percy off Leo, and hugged him, sobbing. The whole restaurant was silent, and Piper grew conscious. Annabeth must have realised they were causing a scene, because she quickly paid the bill, despite Percy's protesting, and dragged the group into the parking lot. She looked over at Calypso, and stuck out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Annabeth."

Calypso warily took it.

"Calypso."

Piper noticed Percy doing a double take, staring wide eyed at Calypso.

"Oh man, Calypso," he started. "Oh my gods."

Calypso flinched and looked down, as if waiting to be struck.

"Oh my gods Calypso, I am so sorry. I didn't know… and then… I lost my memory and… oh my gods I'm so sorry."

Piper had the urge to burst out laughing at Percy's stuttering, but Calypso looked taken aback.

"Percy don't apologise. Not after what I've done to you. I was just so angry and alone and I… I didn't…" she turned and regarded Annabeth. "I'm sorry." She said. "Please don't hate me. I didn't know what else to do. I didn't know I would be causing you harm." She stared at the ground again, and started sobbing, and muttered again and again. "I'm so sorry." Annabeth wrapped her arms around Calypso, and whispered to her, comforting her. Percy came and embraced them both.

Piper stared at them, not knowing about anything any of them were saying. She glanced at Leo and Jason, who looked just as lost and awkward.

"Calypso," Percy said when she calmed down a bit, "You know I can never blame you. The only reason you got angry was because I left you. I don't hate you. Neither does Annabeth."

Annabeth smiled with sad eyes. Piper started to get a hazy picture of what was happening.

"Never. If you hadn't cared for Percy, he would have died." She glanced at Percy. "Then I would have to kick his butt, just like I'm about to do to Leo in a sec."

Piper grinned as she glanced at Leo, who looked like he was about to cower in fear and beg for mercy.

"But I cursed you," Calypso continued. "I damned you to torture you don't deserve. In Tartarus no less."

 _Ohhhh,_ Piper thought. _So that's what this is about…_

"Calypso, what I felt in Tartarus about losing Percy, I couldn't bear it, but I only felt it for a while. You have felt it for eons, for your whole life. Don't apologise because I had to bear it for a minute. You don't deserve the torture any more than I do."

Calypso nodded.

"Thank you Annabeth. I… I hope we'll become good friends."

 _Damn,_ Piper thought. _That was DEEP!_

"We will. I know it. Now if you'll excuse me Calypso, I have some unfinished business with Leo here."

"Oooh," Piper muttered. "Busted."

Piper was relieved when she heard Calypso giggle.

"Now Annabeth," Leo squeaked, backing away as she strode forward. "You wouldn't hurt a poor boy like me would you?"

He took one glance at Annabeth's death glare and ran away, Annabeth hot on his tail screaming.

"LEO – VALDEZ – YOU – ARE – SO – DEAD – COME – BACK – HERE – SO – I – CAN – STRANGLE – YOU – EXPLODING – YOURSELF – WITHOUT – TELLING – US – WHAT – WAS – THAT – LEO – FOR – THAT – YOU – SHALL – DIE"

Piper laughed with the rest as Percy chased after them, screaming at Annabeth.

"DON'T – KILL – HIM – ANNABETH – YOU – PROMISED – WE – TALKED – ABOUT – THIS – YOU – SAID – I – COULD – KILL – HIM – FIRST – ANNABETH – PLEASE – SAVE – SOME – FOR – ME – SLOW – DOWN – OH – MY – GODS – CALM – DOWN – OW – WHAT – THE – ACTUAL – HADES – DON'T – HIT – ME – I – DIDN'T – DO – ANYTHING – WRONG – GET – HIM"

The three of them sped away, while Piper fell to her knees in laughter.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

 **Percy Jackson's POV**

"Are you kidding me?" Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "Another quest?! I said I was done with quests. I've had enough. I'm not going to run errands for any of the gods anymore. I'm done. They've screwed up our lives enough."

"No kidding," Percy muttered. "We just defeated Elvis Presley and his bunch of fling snakes like two hours ago. Now you want us to fight another snake?"

Then he realised he wasn't exactly helping Annabeth's moods.

"A giant snake actually. The bane of Apollo, the mighty Python." Calypso put in.

"Oh great. I feel much better."

"Come on man," Jason slapped Percy's shoulder, a little too hard for Percy's liking. "We've done worse than that."

"Fine," he grumbled. "But you owe us. Do you know how tired we feel? I literally just had a vulture goddess possess me. I have the freaking taste of carcass in my mouth."

"Don't be ridiculous," Annabeth told him. "You've eaten like 3 burgers. You can't _still_ have the taste in your mouth."

"I seriously do," he said.

"Hold it," Piper stuck her hands out in a stop sign in front of Percy's face. "Could you rewind to the part where you had a vulture goddess possess you? Please?"

"Oh," Percy grinned. "We turned Elvis Presley into a snow globe."

"Actually seaweed brain, I turned him into a snow globe. You just distracted him. I did the cool Egyptian magic," Annabeth butted in.

"Actually, Carter turned him into a snow globe. You just read to him until he like died or something. I don't know."

Everyone stared at him and Annabeth. None of this seemed to make any sense to them. Percy didn't blame them. It was a lot to take in. Egyptian magic, Vulture goddess, Turn Elvis Presley into a snow globe, Annabeth reading someone to death, (Actually, the last part wasn't so surprising.)

"So you met Elvis Presley," Piper stated, "You got possessed by a vulture goddess to distract him, then Annabeth read him to death, then this _Carter_ turned him into a snow globe?"

"That's about right." Percy told her, not really wanting to talk about it anymore.

"Oh," Piper said in a small voice. "Ok then."

Annabeth laughed.

"Alright," Leo cut everyone off. "Enough 1960's voodoo snow globe talk. What about our quest? We still have to find Hazel and Frank."

"We're going to find Hazel and Frank?" Percy asked. "They are going to freak out on you. Don't they still think you're dead?"

"Yeah. But I want to surprise them."

 _That is definitely not going to end well._ Percy thought to himself. _He may just die for real this time…._

"Nah, they love me. Who doesn't?"

"Me," Percy stated.

"That," he muttered, "was a rhetorical question mister. Come on. We have to get to California."

"By minivan?" Annabeth asked. Percy looked over at her.

"Yes," Leo answered.

"That's gonna take 45 hours at least. And that's if we have a smooth journey, which we won't."

"Do you have a better idea?" Leo asked.

Annabeth stayed silent.

"Can I drive?" Percy asked out of nowhere. "I just got my P plate."

"Yeah sure," Jason said. "I've been driving without a licence."

"Cool. Can we stop for lunch first?"

"Oh my gods seaweed brain," Annabeth face palmed. "We just ate lunch."

Percy gasped internally.

"THAT WAS NOT LUNCH! THAT WAS A SNACK!"

"Sure," Jason put in, before the two could start arguing again. "I'm hungry anyway."

"Same," Piper said. "They got any veggie burgers?"

"And I want to try the food from New York. Is it any good?" Calypso asked.

"The best you'll ever eat." Percy said, not quite looking her in the eye. He still felt so much guilt.

They headed back inside the restaurant and sat at a large table. They ordered burgers, fries, shakes, the works, and soon enough, they were stuffed.

"Put it on the Latino boy's tab," Percy told the waitress, who was coming with their bill. He laid back, feeling more satisfied than he'd felt in a long time.

"Woah woah woah," Leo held his hands up for a time out. "Why me?"

"Your quest."

Leo pulled out a wad of cash, grumbling insults at Percy, who smirked in his seat.

~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O

They headed outside, and hopped into the van again. Percy got into the driver's seat, and Annabeth called shotgun. Percy held her hand while driving with the other. He raised her hand to his lips and took a deep breath.

"Gods are not quite done with us yet are they?" Percy mumbled.

"Never. I'm starting to think we'll never be able to live properly. At this rate, I'm not even sure we'll be able to graduate from high school. Do you know how many exams we were supposed to sit tomorrow? I have geography, engineering, and I have maths, English the next day. Also, I skipped VCD and Arts and Design for that stupid Egyptian quest. Those were really important exams Percy. I need to sit them if I want to be an architect."

"I know. I had a bunch too. But hey, you are the architect of Olympus. High school or not, you've already reached your dreams. I'm so proud of you."

Percy smiled. It was a comforting thought. No matter what goes down, whether they finish high school or college, they already had everything they need for a good future. A promising career, a future with Annabeth in New Rome, and good friends. After this quest was done, they could disappear, and settle down. Maybe even raise a family.

Percy glanced over at her and grinned, before focusing back on the road. Annabeth noticed and smiled.

"Just thinking." She told him.

"When are you not?" he snorted. "What were you thinking about?"

"You," she said. "Well, not just you, our future."

That got Percy interested. It wasn't the first time he'd been thinking about their future.

"Yeah? What do you see for us?" he asked.

"Well for a start, we will have a nice house, a cool design .With black curves across the balcony that swirl around and curve inwards, with the tips just at the edge of the window. I like that."

Percy rolled his eyes as Annabeth started ranting.

"What else?"

"We will have a beautiful boy and girl, maybe about three years apart…"

"A boy and a girl…" Percy mumbled. Annabeth nodded.

"Our little family. Have you thought about it Percy? Our family?"

"Yeah. While we were charging slowly to defeat Setne. Remember?"

"Yeah," Annabeth said.

"I kept noticing Sadie, how much she looked like you. Without the dyed hair though. You're too sensible for that."

Annabeth laughed.

"I'm too sensible for dyed hair?"

"Well, yeah, but that's the thing. Sadie's not sensible. She's wild, reckless, and playful. It reminded me of… well, me. I couldn't help but think that if we ever had a daughter, she would be a lot like Sadie. Looked like you, acted like me. I can just imagine it."

Annabeth stared at him for a count of two, before leaning over and kissing his cheek.

"Our daughter." She said.

"Our daughter." Percy replied, glancing over and recapturing her hand. "Our family."


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

 **Piper McLean's POV**

Percy was driving on a desert road in the middle of nowhere, still in his conversation with Annabeth. Piper was listening to their conversation. She knew she probably shouldn't have, but she couldn't help it. They were being too romantic for a daughter of Aphrodite to not listen. After the talk about family, Piper decided to butt in.

"Watcha talkin' bout?" She stuck her head between Annabeth and Percy. The smirk on her face must have told them she knew exactly what they had been talking about, because Annabeth ducked her head and looked down on her lap. Percy kept his eyes on the road, his face indifferent, but his ears strawberry pink.

"Nothing," Percy mumbled.

"Nothing? Kiss my ass! It was something!" Piper knew exactly what they were talking about, but she wanted them to say it.

"We were talking about all the exams you made us skip for this stupid quest," Annabeth grumbled.

"You're glad you have an excuse to skip," Piper stated matter of factly. "You just don't want to admit it."

"Holy Hades Piper! You can't just skip exams, they're important!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"Why not?"

"You just can't."

"Any reason why?"

"Piper McLean, I have a freshly sharpened celestial bronze knife hidden up my sleeve and I'm not afraid to use it."

Piper grinned. She decided not to tell Annabeth how many times she called in sick on test days. She decided to change the subject before Annabeth gutted her. She remembered something Leo said earlier.

"Anyways, Percy," she said. "Leo thinks you're wicked with the sword, and wants to you to give him sparing lessons, but he's too proud to ask you, so I'm doing it for him."

Calypso snorted from the back.

"It's not true!" Leo called out. "She's lying Percy!"

"Sure she is," Percy smirked and looked at the rearview mirror. Piper cracked up. So did Jason and. Annabeth was doubled over, and shaking with tears brimming her eyes. Leo turned red, leaned over, punched Percy in the arm and screamed, cradling his knuckles against his body. Percy didn't even flinch.

"Holy freaking Hephaestus!" he groaned. "You've been stocking up on the red meat."

"I don't eat red meat," Percy said, glancing back. "I only eat blue meat."

At this point, Piper wasn't sure if she would be able to survive the car trip without dying of laughter.

"Seriously though man, what was that?" Leo asked, still moaning and hugging his arm.

"Apparently the curse of the Little Tiber River lifted when the Greek/Roman rift was resolved. I didn't even notice until a week later or something. Clarisse tried to run me through with her spear, Maimer. It split open like a flower. You should have seen her face."

Piper blinked. So how exactly was Percy alive…?

"You broke her spear? And SURVIVED!?" She screamed. "HOW?!"

Percy shrugged.

"I broke her first spear when I was twelve. I survived just fine. It was Clarisse who got bashed up."

Leo whimpered timidly.

"So what's this about Tiber Rivers?"

Percy sighed. "I used to have the curse of Achilles-"

"Man," Leo interrupted, "That's a lot of curses you got there."

"Shut up. I used to bear the curse of Achilles to fight Kronos and stuff, but when I crossed the borders of Camp Jupiter, it got washed away. Now it's back."

"So you're Mr Invincible?" Piper asked.

Leo grinned. "Sweet! So it won't matter if I do this?"

He dug out a screwdriver from his toolbelt, leaned forward and thrust it towards Percy's shoulder. It shattered on impact. Percy wasn't harmed, but a small piece ricocheted and flew into Annabeth's arm. Blood trickled down from where the piece of metal was embedded.

"Ow!"

Piper glared at Leo.

"What was that for?"

"Oops?" he offered.

As Annabeth pulled the piece out, wincing. The trickle became a steady flow. "Oh great," she muttered. She turned to Percy.

"Got any ambrosia?"

"Jeans, back pocket."

Annabeth slipped her hand into Percy's back pocket. Piper and the others started snickering, including Leo. Annabeth turned to glare at Leo, who recoiled. Piper snorted. Annabeth stuffed a piece of ambrosia into her mouth and sighed as the wound closed up. She wiped the blood off her arm with the bottom of her t-shirt.

Piper's eye caught something, and she suddenly gasped and grabbed Percy's shoulder.

"Percy stop the van. STOP PERCY!"

Percy slammed the on the brakes, and the minivan screeched to a halt on the dirt, bringing up dust from where the tyres skidded. It was hard to make out what was outside, because it was pouring buckets, but a figure stood there, in the middle of the road, as if it was waiting to meet them. The group hopped out of the van and readied their weapons. They looked at the woman, now shimmering white. She was once beautiful. She still was, with her flowing hair, cascading across her shoulders, blowing around in slow motion, as if she was in the ocean. Her white dress had intricate designs, swirling with very light shades of blue, and decorated with sea shells. But she had a hungry look in her eyes. She was looking around, her eyes darting left and right, drinking everything in. Her cheek bones were profound against her hollow face, and left dark shadows just above her cheeks, giving her an eerie look. Calypso stepped forward.

"Leucothea," Calypso mumbled. "Do you remember me?"

"Well of course. Calypso. The innocent girl, dumped on an island by the gods. And yet you stand among their brethren. You shame me Calypso."

"Sister-" she tried to reason.

"We are not sisters," she snapped. " _YOU ARE NOT MY SISTER!"_

"Leucothea please. Just listen to me. Python is using you. He is going to abandon you as soon as he gets what he wants."

"Are you saying the gods never used me? Are you saying they are any better? ARE YOU ANY BETTER? CURSE YOU! DO YOU _HEAR ME! HERA! POSEIDON! I WILL HAVE YOU CRUSHED!"_

Percy raised his hand.

"Could you please… like not crush Poseidon? Pretty please? He's a really great guy, you know, if you get to know him and stuff."

"You can crush Hera though," Annabeth volunteered. "Nobody cares." Piper nodded in agreement.

Thunder grumbled in the distance.

Jason stepped in before any other unnecessary comments were added.

"Sorry, we got off on the wrong foot. I'm Jas…"

"I know who you are," she said as she jerked her head towards Jason, like a startled chicken. "My master will reward me greatly for your capture."

Piper frowned at that. No one got to capture her boyfriend. No one. She decided not to spell it out to this crazy lady though. She didn't really look like she could do much.

"Your master?" Jason asked, "Python?"

"No, godling scum! I do not work for Python. We all work for a greater cause. This one knows of whom I speak," she said, pointing a shaky finger at Calypso.

"I do not," she stated.

"You will soon enough."

She lunged at the nearest person, which happened to be Calypso. She grabbed her arm, pulled her towards her body, using it as a shield, whipped out a knife and held it against her throat. Alarmed, the five surged forward, but Leucothea took the knife away from Calypso's throat and pointed it at them.

"One more step," she screeched, "And she dies!"

She smiled at Leo's confused face.

"Oh yes. Did you not tell your boyfriend Calypso? Or even better, did you not know?"

Leucothea flicked her knife up Calypso's cheek, drawing a line of blood. Leo's eyes widened. Her blood was red. _Her blood was red._

"No," he muttered. "No, no, no."

Everyone looked confused, like they didn't understand what was happening. _Good,_ Piper thought. _I'm not the only one._ Only Percy looked grave. Piper figured he knew exactly what was going on.

"I… I… but how?"

"Oh yes my dear. This is just marvellous. Mortal. So easy to snap. To drive insane. _To kill._ "

She pressed the dagger harder on her throat.

"Mortal. I'm mortal."

"Yes. Your boyfriend doomed you as soon as he flew you off Ogygia."

Leo looked at her, his expression full of guilt, and Piper finally understood what had just happened.

"Calypso…" Leo whispered.

Leucothea held up her hand for silence.

"No time for this. If you'll excuse us, Calypso has a family meeting to attend."

And right where they had been standing was nothing but dust from the dirt road.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

 **Leo Valdez's POV**

Leo was in shock _. What had just happened?_ The others started walking back towards the van, looking dazed with grief. But Leo couldn't do anything except stand there and stare at where his girlfriend had just vanished. Percy came up to him after some time, and put a hand on his shoulder. Immediately, Leo jerked away.

"Come on, we have to go," Percy said.

"I… I lost her… again..." Leo stuttered, for once at a loss of words.

"We'll get her back man, but now we have to find Hazel and Frank. We'll get new leads on Calypso. I promise. I'll do anything to help you find her."

"But…" Leo took a breath and forced the words out. "What if you can't? What if she's already gone?"

Percy looked at him.

"I swear it on the river Styx."

Thunder grumbled. Leo looked at him. Any guilt that he now carried had been multiplied by hundreds. Percy's life was now on the line, caused by Leo's failure to protect Calypso.

"Man don't do that. What if we can't find her, the fates will curse you."

"It's a risk I am willing to take. I owe her that much. I owe it to you too. I told you remember?"

"That," he said, "Was a gajillion years ago. That was even before I died. Besides, I already got her off the island."

"I know. Now come on. The longer we wait…"

Leo marched up to the van and jumped in. _You can't keep her,_ he thought. _You stupid ugly lady. Better watch your back, Team Leo is coming after you…_

~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O

Jason took over the driving at about 3 in the morning when Percy fell asleep on the wheel, swerved off to the side, went off road and nearly killed everyone. Piper switched seats with Annabeth, leaned against the car door and fell asleep beside Jason. Percy, who hadn't bothered fastening his seatbelt, was snoring on Annabeth's lap, while Annabeth was running her fingers through his unruly black hair and massaging his scalp gently with her fingernails.

Leo, was wide awake, and watched her with amusement, but more than anything was envy. He wished Calypso was here.

"Don't worry," Annabeth said to him. "We'll get her back."

"You don't know that," Leo snapped. Immediately, he looked down. "Sorry, I just… How can you be sure? I mean she was kidnapped by a goddess. What chance she have?"

Annabeth snorted.

"Leo, Percy and Kidnapped were taken by Hera. I heard Piper's dad was captured by the giant Enceladus. Percy's mom was held hostage by Hades. You were banished by Khione. You remember Grover? He was once captured by a giant cyclops. I was kidnapped by a titan once, Atlas. He was powerful enough to capture Lady Artemis. A minor Goddess. It's nothing. Trust me. We've been through a lot more."

"Percy said something like that," Leo told her, "But it makes more sense when you put it that way."

Annabeth looked down at Percy.

"You know, Percy's been really tied up about Calypso, especially after Tartarus. He'd do anything to help her. One of the things I love about him."

"Loyalty?" Leo asked her.

She nodded.

"He swore on the Styx that we'd find Calypso."

"I'm not surprised."

"Aren't you worried? I mean what if we don't?"

Annabeth glanced at Leo. Those fierce grey eyes that made Leo want to pee, were now soft and understanding.

"I'm not worried. I already told you Leo, we will find her."

She glanced down at Percy, who shifted, grabbed Annabeth's arm, and pulled her down, silently asking her to lie down with him. Sighing, Annabeth took off her seatbelt, and lay down. Percy pulled her onto his chest wrapped his arm around her protectively, and fell asleep again. Annabeth snuggled deeper into the crook of Percy's neck and looked up at Leo, who was trying not to laugh.

"Not a word," she warned him, giving him a death glare. Leo gulped and nodded. Forget about soft and understanding eyes.

Jason, who had been listening to their conversation spoke up.

"Jeez Annabeth," he said from the front, looking at her through the rearview mirror. "Comfortable?"

"Oh my gods! We're just sleeping. What's the big fuss?"

"Are you saying that you and Percy have slept together before?" Leo asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Jealous?" Annabeth teased. Leo snorted.

"Get some sleep Leo. Don't fret. Tomorrow, we'll have Hazel and Frank, and get this quest started."

Leo grinned.

"Sure. Operation butt kick is a go."

"Night guys," Jason called out.

~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O

 **Annabeth Chase's POV**

Leo was out like a light after that. Annabeth watched as he unfastened his seatbelt, leaned against his door and started snoring. _Wow,_ Annabeth thought. _Under aged driving, three people without seatbelts, two lying down across a row of car seats. One visit from the cops and they were done for._ For once though, Annabeth didn't care. She wrapped her arms around Percy's chest and inhaled his ocean scent. Percy wrapped his arms around her tighter and kissed the top of her head. He opened his eyes, and Annabeth stared into an ocean of sea green, heavy with drowsiness. Percy stared back at her.

"Can't sleep?"

"Nope. Were you awake the whole time?"

"Half awake. Not enough to move, but enough to listen to your conversation." He grinned. "One of the things you love about me huh?"

Annabeth groaned.

"Big headed much. To answer your question, yes. You, Seaweed Brain, are the most loyal, kind, caring, considerate, handsome dumbass I know, and I love you for it."

"Dumbass?"

Annabeth pretended to think about it for a moment.

"Yes. Dumbass."

Percy pulled her down for a hug.

"I love everything about you Annabeth," Percy mumbled against her hair. You're by far the smartest, prettiest girl there is. More beautiful than a goddess. And you're all mine."

Annabeth propped herself up on her elbows and kissed him. Percy leaned forward and captured her lips, pushing closer to her. From the front, Jason groaned.

"Seriously man? PDA! If you're gonna make out with your girlfriend, at least warn me. I didn't have to see that."

"Eyes on the road, Grace," Annabeth wagged a finger at him. "You're gonna fail your drivers ed."

"Whatever Chase."

Percy looked at her.

"Nice save."

"Mmhmm. You owe me."

"When do I not?"

"How does dinner sound with you? After all this is over? Sadie was telling me about this Russian restaurant. I want to try it."

"You're on Wise girl. You should probably get some sleep."

"You too."

"Whatever you say. Goodnight Annabeth."

"Night Perce."

Annabeth listened as Percy's breathing slowed, and his hand loosened its grip on hers slightly.

Soon enough, Annabeth fell asleep. She wished she hadn't. After all, what is a demigod sleep without the dreams?


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN**

 **Annabeth Chase's POV**

The nightmare started off when she and Percy was having dinner in Paris. That wasn't necessarily the nightmarish part. It's what came after that got on Annabeth's nerves. She and Percy were chatting about their future, just as they had in the van. Just when Percy was talking about college, he slid off his chair and collapsed on the ground. Annabeth gasped and rushed beside him. He didn't have a pulse. He was dead. Oh gods he was dead. Annabeth started sobbing. Aphrodite, previously disguised as a waitress came out. Her normally dazzling smile was hidden by a sympathetic frown.

 _It's going to happen Annabeth. I'm sorry. But you're the only one who can bring him back,_ she said. _Succeed, and you guarantee yourself a happy future with Percy. Fail, and he dies. You'll never find love again. Considered yourself warned._

Annabeth was still crying when the scene changed. Calypso had her hands in chains, and her dress was in tatters. Leucothea was dragging her along, with a bunch of monster allies. Calypso looked deadly, with a glare Annabeth had never seen on her normally kind face. She looked ready for murder. The scene started to become familiar. Annabeth realised that she had been here. It was Mt Orthrys, where she had been kidnapped by Atlas. It probably wasn't a coincidence that Calypso was brought here, where her father stood holding up the… where he used to hold up the sky. Annabeth gasped. Where Atlas used to hold the sky, was the titan Bob, chained with celestial bronze and grunting with the effort. But how was that possible? Wasn't Bob dead? Calypso was kicked in the back of her legs. She tripped and stumbled forward, inches away from where her grandfather knelt in pain.

"Iapetus," Calypso whispered, backing away. Annabeth figured that she probably didn't know that Iapetus had turned sides a few years ago.

 _Well well well…_ another voice said, deep and confident. Annabeth immediately recognised that voice. Apparently, so did Calypso. _What do we have here?_ Annabeth looked around, trying to determine where the voice had come from, but it seemed to have been coming from everywhere.

"Come out father," she shouted, trembling. "I'm tired of your games. You've caused me enough trouble."

Atlas emerged out of nowhere. He looked at Calypso with scorn and hunger, like a lion would look at a mouse. He laughed again.

 _Hello my dear,_ he said. _We are going to have so much fun._ Then he looked straight at Annabeth smiled. _Hello to you too my dear. Here to eavesdrop? Well why don't you tell your friends_ this? _You are too late to stop us now. Which will you choose?_

Annabeth's dream changed again. She was in the Labyrinth again, except this time, she was by herself. Suddenly, Hecate materialised next to Annabeth.

"My dear Annabeth," she said to her. "Atlas is right. We have reached your crossroads. Which will you choose?"

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked.

"I sense a spell cast upon your enemies. Atlas, Leucothea and Python. You can't defeat them until the seven of you unite. For that, you have to travel to California, and time is against us."

Annabeth looked at Hecate. _It couldn't be that bad, could it?_ She thought.

"To travel to Greece, you will need to travel by boat. You will need the son of Poseidon's help. Even then, you cannot achieve everything that you wish. As I said before, time is not on your side. Travel to Mount Orthrys, and your will not make it to Delphi. Apollo perishes along with the rest of the city, and all the civilians. Conquer Delphi, and you will leave Mt Orthrys undefended. And you can say goodbye to the sorceress, Calypso, and the titan Iapetus."

"What's stopping me from just iris messaging Hazel and Frank, telling them to meet us in Greece?"

"You can, but let's just say they're a little… preoccupied at the moment. They have to stay at camp until you show up. So I ask you again. Which one will you choose?"

Annabeth's head started spinning. Janus appeared in front of her, chanting, and waving their door keys around. _Choose, choose, choose._ Annabeth suddenly felt suffocated, and started panting. Then she heard a voice whisper to her. _Wake up Annabeth,_ but it was Percy's voice. Annabeth looked around for him. He wasn't there. Annabeth panicked. The words were still echoing in her head. _Choose, wake up, Choose._ Annabeth fell to the ground, still dizzy as the world spun around her. _Choose. Annabeth wake up. WAKE UP ANNABETH!_ and Annabeth woke up from her nightmare, panting and whimpering.

~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O

Jason was still driving, and Piper and Leo were still asleep. Annabeth looked out of the window. It was about 5 am. Percy was looking over at her in concern, and Jason was glancing through the rearview mirror.

"You ok Annabeth?" Jason asked. "You were scaring us."

"Yeah. I'm ok. Just a nightmare. What happened?"

"Percy and I were just talking, and you started screaming Percy's name. We tried waking you up, but you settled down for a bit. Then you started whimpering and shivering. I don't know what happened, but Percy was worried sick."

 _Damn,_ Annabeth thought. _That was embarrassing._

"You ok Wise Girl?" Percy asked her. He was now sitting up, and had Annabeth's head in his lap. Funny, Annabeth didn't feel Percy move her when she was sleeping. Then again, she didn't hear when he and Jason tried to wake her up the first time. She looked up at him, and couldn't help but picture Percy dying again. She decided not to mention it to him when Jason was here though.

"Yeah, I'm ok. I have a new lead on Calypso though. There's good news and there's bad news."

"I pick the good news first," Percy said.

"Bob is alive."

Percy blinked.

"Bob as in Iapetus Bob?"

"Yup"

"What about Damasen?"

"I don't know. But Bob is definitely alive. I saw him."

Percy closed his eyes. "And the Bad news?"

"Calypso is being held prisoner at Mt Orthrys, Atlas has escaped again, and Bob has been captured and is holding the sky up for him."

"That's a lot of bad news," Percy muttered. Annabeth stared at him. Percy noticed, and immediately brightened. "They're at Mount Orthrys. At least we know where they are. We'll go as soon as we get Hazel and Frank."

"It's not that easy Seaweed Brain," Annabeth told him. "Listen. Someone cast a spell upon the three of them Atlas, Leucothea and Python. We can't defeat them unless the seven of us are together."

"That's not so bad. We were gonna get them anyways."

"I know, but the thing is, if we go to California, we won't have enough time to go to Delphi and Mount Orthrys. Either we save Calypso and Bob and , or we rescue Delphi. If we don't go to California, we can get to both, but there would be no point. Unless… I AM A TOTAL GENIUS!"

That woke Piper and Leo up.

"Wha…?" Piper rubbed her eyes. "What genius?"

Annabeth recounted her dream for the two of them. It shook the daze out of Leo.

"We have to go to Mount Orthrys. Please. We have to."

Piper looked sad.

"Leo, I'm sorry, but think about it. It's two against hundreds of Delphi civilians."

"Wait guys," Annabeth said. "We can get to both. We won't be taking a van though. Jason, stop the van. I have an iris message to make."

Percy looked at Annabeth.

"I thought you said Hecate told you we can't tell Hazel and Frank to meet us at Greece."

"I'm not iris messaging Hazel and Frank."

"What do you mean?"

"We're not getting to California by van. We're getting there by shadow travel. Now shut up and let me talk to Nico."


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

 **Nico Di Angelo's POV**

Nico was falling into empty nothingness, screaming like an idiot, when an iris message came through.

 _Gods, I have really bad timing,_ he thought as he was plummeted. _Like REALLY bad timing._

Nico saw his five friends of them stared at him blankly as the iris message followed him down, while he fell to his death. Or nearly fell to his death. Last minute, he was suspended in midair, before being dropped into a place that he thankfully recognised. The underworld. Nico dusted himself off and looked around, as if making sure that nobody saw him humiliate himself. He did a double take when he saw the five's faces, staring at him in silence. Nico stared back. Percy, of course, spoke first.

"Well," he started. "Nice day for falling into oblivions and dropping into the underworld isn't it?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Shut up Percy. What are you guys doing?"

"I dunno," Percy said. "It was Annabeth's idea."

Annabeth shoved him. Percy didn't even move, which made Annabeth look a little miffed.

"Listen Nico," Annabeth told him. "We need your help with a quest."

"How exactly can I help?" he asked.

"Shadow travel."

Nico groaned inwardly.

"Again? Do you know how mad Will is going to be when he finds out?"

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Jason asked.

 _If only they knew…_

"He's gonna freak. He's gonna lock me up in that gods dammed infirmary for a week, and feed me stupid mud flavoured gum. I'd rather not."

"Nico," Percy stepped in, shoving Jason, sending him toppling over Leo and grumbling. "Bob is in trouble. If we fail, thousands of citizens, die, Leo's girlfriend dies, Bob fades, and Apollo is doomed."

Nico thought for a while. Of course, he would rather decline. He was done with quests. After all he'd been through, going through Tartarus by himself, being an outsider of the world, suffocating slowly in a bronze jar etc. he decided that the gods owed him some peace _at least._ But these were his friends. They had been through as much as he had, and they needed him.

"Well… if you put it that way…"

Nico swiped his hand through the mist and concentrated. Seconds later, he materialised from under someone. He grunted as he stood up, pushing Piper onto his back, both yelping in surprise. Nico grabbed a hold of Piper's arm to keep her from falling, and set her down. He smiled sheepishly as Piper brushed herself off and tried not to look embarrassed. Nico braced his hands on his knees and gasped, out of breath. He really had to work on his stamina when it came to shadow travelling.

"So… what's the plan?" he asked, still catching his breath.

"Basically, we need you to shadow travel us to California." Annabeth told him.

Nico widened his eyes. Shadow travelling was the _last_ thing he wanted to do right now.

"ALL OF YOU?!"

"Before you say anything, listen," Percy told him. "We're at a dead end. We don't have time. We just found out that we have to rescue Delphi from Python, and return Atlas to his prison in five days. We don't have time to travel to California by van."

Nico raised his eyebrows.

"It still doesn't make sense. Why do you need to go to California for? Shouldn't you be heading for Greece?"

Annabeth clenched her fists slightly, getting agitated. Nico took that as a bad sign. The last thing he needed was a mad Annabeth. He wouldn't live through the night.

"We need Hazel and Frank. Someone cast a spell upon our enemies. We can't defeat any of them unless the seven of the Great Prophecy is together. Hecate implied that Hazel and Frank are in trouble. We have to help them. The enemies know that we don't have time for that. But they assumed that we were going to take the van. But we don't have to, if you'll help us."

"Alright. Now? I need a rest. I'm a bit tired. Also, it's like 5:30 in the morning."

"Maybe it would be a good idea to stock up on the supplies first," Jason put in. "I think I saw a 24 hour grocery store. Hey Pipes? Leo? Do you know where the money is?"

Piper and Leo, who Nico noticed had been going in and out of the van, gathering their bags and supplies, shuffled around, trying to find it. Leo opened a pack and brought out a zip lock bag filled with notes. He tossed it to Jason.

"Bingo!"

Jason caught it in one hand and turned to the rest.

"Ok gang," he said, "Here's the plan."

"Gang?" Nico asked "You're making yourselves sound like gangsters."

"Hey," Jason told him, "We're wicked with weapons, we've been expelled out of schools, we've killed hundreds of monsters, how much more gangster can you be?"

"Good point."

"Ok guys," Annabeth stepped in. "Shopping."

~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O

 **Annabeth Chase's POV**

The group walked a few blocks up, towards the supermarket, grabbed a few baskets, and headed inside.

Annabeth opened the bag of money, split it, and handed it out to everyone.

"Alright guys. Food and Drinks… and anything else you think we might need."

"Crisps?" Leo asked.

"Whatever. Meet up at the exit ok?"

"Is that a yes?"

She sighed.

"Valdez," she warned, "Don't make me say no."

"Yes ma'am," he shouted, mock saluting her. Several people turned their heads. Annabeth glared at him, grabbed Percy's arm and dragged him towards the sanitary section. Percy chuckled.

"No wonder you're so moody."

"Shut it Seaweed Brain," she snapped. "I'm not the only girl on this quest, you idiot,"

She scanned the shelves, and grabbed several packets of tampons and pads. Percy grinned. Annabeth glanced at him and scowled.

"Not a word."

"You got it."

Annabeth moved along to the canned foods, when Percy grabbed Annabeth's arm, stopping her in her tracks. She looked over, annoyed.

"What?" she hissed.

"I have a bad feeling."

This stopped Annabeth in her tracks. Percy's instincts were top notch, and if he had a bad feeling, it was time to brace yourself. She looked around. A low growling came from somewhere, and echoed through the store. Percy and Annabeth immediately drew their weapons, and stood back to back, like they've done many times. Percy turned towards Annabeth and tackled her to the ground, just as a hellhound leaped over Percy's head, knocking down a display pyramid of canned corn and mushrooms. This caused the others, minus Leo, to come dashing towards them. Annabeth looked that the hellhound. Gods, this one was huge. She threw her dagger at it, and impaled it between its glowing red eyes. It exploded in a rain of yellow monster dust, like a piñata. Piper came and held out her hand to help Annabeth and Percy up to their feet. Annabeth took her hand and hauled herself up. She saw Piper glance at her monster covered sanitary items and smirk, but thankfully, she didn't say anything.

"Come on," Jason said. "Better pay up and get out of here before they kick us out. Leo dashed out of nowhere, the corners of three bags full of potato chips and cheese balls grasped in each hand.

"Did I miss something?" he asked. Annabeth gave him a _why are you so dumb? Can you not see that there is monster dust everywhere?_ look. They paid for their items and ran out of the store. They stopped where the van was parked, set the shopping bags down and shoved them into their packs. Annabeth looked at Nico expectantly.

"Alright. Hold hands."

Everyone linked hands, Annabeth between Leo and Percy. She closed her eyes, and the demigods melted into eternal darkness.


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

 **Annabeth Chase's POV**

The six demigods materialised on an alleyway, next to a cat, which meowled indignantly and stalked away. Nico lurched forward, and was caught by Percy and Leo. Annabeth looked around, and saw a sign reading 'Colorado, 5 miles ahead.' They had jumped to Colorado from about Ohio. They had _just_ missed the California mark. Dare she ask Nico for another small jump? Nico must have been reading her facial expression.

"Yeah sure," he responded. "Just give me maybe an hour. I'll be fine by then." He sat down, breathing hard. "Never carried so many people by myself in a long time."

Annabeth nodded. She felt a bit bad, but she was sure it was the only way.

"Ok Nico," she responded. "You rest up. I'm gonna explore for a bit."

Percy was on his feet before she could blink.

"Me too," he said, raising his hand, like he was in a primary school class. Annabeth rolled his eyes.

"So will I," Leo put up his hand, mocking Percy. Percy stuck his tongue out at him.

Annabeth studied Leo. He looked wild. Annabeth knew he was just doing everything he could that could potentially help Calypso. Annabeth couldn't blame him. She was the exact same when Percy went missing. Mad beyond Daedalus himself, so consumed with finding her boyfriend that she forgot what it meant to do anything in the interest of herself. She didn't want Leo to head down that path. It led to insanity, but she didn't have the heart to tell him. Besides, what would it matter if Leo tagged along with them?

"Alright. We'll be back in an hour to shadow travel. If we're not back by an hour and a half, we were either kidnapped, injured, or succumbed to our painful deaths, in which you can start panicking." Annabeth told the rest.

"Or we could have been held up at a candy store," Percy said.

"Or Taco Bells," Leo added.

"In which case," Annabeth put in, "You should definitely start panicking."

The rest of them grinned, including Nico, who made it look like he was giving his face a workout.

"See ya suckers," Leo saluted to everyone before marching out into the dark night, fireball in his hand to provide light. Percy laughed, grabbed Annabeth's hand and the both of them walked on behind him, while Annabeth grumbled about how she was surrounded by idiots with a screwed up sense of humour.

~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O_O~O

 **Leo Valdez's POV**

Bad luck came to them about a few blocks out from where they had started. Typical. Leo turned around, about to make a snarky remark about Percy being a softie, when he ran smack into a pair of giant thighs, swollen with muscles. _Well_ , Leo thought, _at least this giant doesn't have Dragon feet_. He looked up and gagged.

"Oi, you, Big Boy, YOOHOO! Do you need to borrow my toothbrush? You need it more than Percy does, and that's saying something."

Out of the corner of his eye, Leo saw Percy glaring at him, before turning his attention to the giant, having the same initial reaction as Leo. He didn't blame Percy. The giant's teeth were disgusting. They didn't even look like teeth. They looked like dinosaur kneecaps, yellow and black with decay, covered in what looked like a mixture of rust and the white froth that forms at the side of your mouth when you're thirsty. In other words, he needed something a lot stronger than a toothbrush. He probably needed a carwash. His teeth, however, could be called pretty, compared to his twisted up, bulging features. Scum green eyes that seemed to pop out of his head in a sickening way, a mashed up, disfigured nose, wet with mucus, and horrible, marred lips that stretched out across his gruesome face.

"YO!" Leo shouted, cupping his mouth, trying to get the giant's attention again. "BIG UGLY, YOU MIND MOVING?"

The giant regarded Leo with malice, like he was a bug he wanted to experiment on.

"HELLO PUNY MORTAL!" he boomed. After all they had been through, though, it took a lot more than that to scare him.

"HELLO GIANT BUCKET OF NOSE DROOL!" Percy yelled back. Leo snorted. Percy didn't have any other insults up his sleeve?

"PERSEUS JACKSON!" he cried out in recognition, "YES! I KNOW YOU! HELLO LEO VALDEZ! ANNABETH CHASE!"

"Hi," Annabeth waved to the giant, pokerfaced. "So about what my friend said about moving… I mean I'm sure you didn't mean to get in our way, but..."

"SAYS WHO?!"

"Says me."

"WELL THE REVENGE OF MOTHER EARTH SAYS OTHERWISE!"

"Ohh, that's what this is about, and for the Gods' sake, stop shouting," Leo said, popping his ears.

"WHY WOULD I DO ANYTHING FOR THE SAKE OF THE GODS?!"

"Oh my… FINE!" Annabeth grumbled. "For the gods' sake, keep shouting!"

"Never," he said, much quieter this time.

 _Not too bright in the head,_ Leo thought to himself.

"So, who are you, mister giant?" Leo asked. "Just so… you know… we're able to brag about how strong you are and such…" Leo turned to Percy and Annabeth and raised his eyebrows. _Can you believe this guy?_ He thought.

The giant grinned.

"I AM THE MIGHTY ANAX! SON OF GAEA AND ORANOUS! ANYONE DARE TO CROSS MY PATH WILL BE CRUSHED IN THE NAME OF MOTHER EARTH! AND THAT INCLUDES…" he paused and shuddered. "Oww," he squeaked, and fell to his knees before pouring out sand from the gash in his back. Percy, who Leo didn't notice move, now stood behind the kneeling giant, riptide stuck into the giant's body. He scampered around to Annabeth, capped his sword, and slung his arm around her.

"Just like Antaeus, All bark, no bite." He grinned. "So about this scouting thing…"

"Ok, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth sighed. "Scouting."

"You guys are disgusting," Leo stated. "Too much PDA. Please don't make me puke."

Percy removed his arm from Annabeth and skipped over to Leo.

"Hey man," he told him, "you know what?"

"What?" Leo asked.

"You suck."

Leo looked at him questioningly.

"And you don't?"

"Of course not! "

"Alright! Alright!" Leo grinned. "Just checking."

Annabeth was getting visibly impatient.

"We should head back."

"NO!" Percy and Leo shouted together. _Damn,_ Leo thought. _Percy and I are more alike than I thought._ Annabeth looked back.

"Why?"

"DUDE!" Percy screamed in a voice unfit for a seventeen year old male. "DYLAN'S CANDY BAR! THEY HAVE IT IN COLORADO?! I AM SO THERE!"

Annabeth growled, and Leo had to get a hold of his bladder. Percy didn't seem to care though.

"No."

"Yes."

"No Percy!"

"Yes Percy!"

"NO PERCY!"

"YES PERCY!"

"OH MY GODS!"

"You want candy and you know it." Percy told her smugly.

"FINE!" she snapped. "Five minutes. THAT'S IT!"

"Man," Leo muttered to Percy. "You have a death wish." Percy laughed at this.

"Don't laugh at me, you little pinprick," she growled at him. "And don't try your luck."

Percy immediately straightened his face.

"Not trying my luck," he promised, and leaned over to kiss her cheek. Leo turned to the side and pretended to barf.


	13. Chapter 13

"Honestly guys," Piper sighed at Percy, Annabeth and Leo. "You said you'd be back in an hour or so. It's been two hours. We've started panicking. Jason and I went looking for you. And where do I find you?"

"Pipes…" Leo tried to reason with her.

"IN THE GODS DAMNED CANDY BAR."

"Well don't look at me," Annabeth crossed her arms, glaring at Percy. "I wasn't the one who said it would take five minutes."

"Sorry mum," Percy muttered.

Piper sighed.

"Guys you know we are on a tight schedule. That's the whole reason we have Nico. Nico has been ready for an hour and a half. Jason is still out there looking for you. You should know better."

Leo rolled his eyes.

"So should we look for Jason?"

"NO!" Annabeth exclaimed. "There is no way we are leaving here to separate ourselves again. We'll have to I.M. Jason. Tell him to come back." She started digging through the packs for a source of water and light. She snapped her fingers. "Nico, do you have a drachma?"

Nico had been watching, amused at the scene. He had a slight smile on his face, that when Piper turned to look at him, she did a double take. Nico straightened his face, and shot her a look, telling her to keep the comments to herself. He sighed, and fished a drachma out of his pocket. He tossed it to Annabeth. Without looking up from the packs, Annabeth caught it with one hand. Leo clapped in mock applause.

"Potential, right there. Tell me Ms Chase, do you wish to join the circus? I bet they could use you with that wicked hand eye co-ordination."

Annabeth whacked him. He shrieked.

"DUDE! OW! SINCE WHEN DID GIRL HITS ACTUALLY HURT?!"

Annabeth and Piper both snapped their heads in Leo's direction. Percy was trying desperately to hold back hysterical laughter, and Nico wore his tiny smile again, which was the equivalent of him laughing himself to death.

"What did you say?" Annabeth asked, dangerously quiet. She leaned in further, causing Leo to edge back.

"Nothing!" he squeaked.

Annabeth smirked.

"That's what I thought."

She set down the drachma, shined a torchlight, set it upright, tossed a bottle of water to Percy and looked at him.

"Help me, would you?"

Percy flexed his wrist upwards, and the water exploded out of the bottle, surrounding the torch in a fine mist. Colours broke out. Annabeth threw in the drachma, and muttered the words.

"Iris, Goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Jason Grace from… well somewhere in Colorado."

Jason was wrestling a cyclops. He was sweating like crazy and grunting. He threw himself onto its back and gritted his teeth as it attempted to shake him off. He raised his legs so he they were clinging onto his neck, and his hands covering his eyes.

"GAH!" the monster roared. Jason leaned forward, then suddenly threw all his weight backwards, effectively shattering its spine at the neck. The monster burst into yellow dust, leaving his eye at Jason's feet. He picked it up and hurled it across the road, where it got run over by a car.

"And that," Jason muttered to himself, "Is what you get for wanting to marry Piper."

"Excuse me?" Piper exclaimed. "Who now?"

Jason looked up, startled. His grimy face burst out into a grin.

"Guys!" he shouted. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Jason, they were at Dylan's Candy Bar. Out of all places!"

"THEY HAVE THAT HERE? DUDE DID YOU GET ANYTHING FOR ME?!"

"Boys," Annabeth muttered. Piper sighed, exasperatedly.

"Come back. We're leaving soon, with or without you."

"You wouldn't leave me," Jason told her. "You love me TOO much!"

"Lucky for you. Now hurry up for the Gods' Sake!"

"Fine, fine."

Jason swiped through the mist, cutting off the connection. Annabeth turned to the rest. They were all staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

"What now?" Leo asked.

"Now," she told him, "we wait."

Not a moment later, Jason arrived, covered in monster dust, bloody gashes and sweat. Despite all that, he was smirking. Piper ran up and embraced him.

"You idiot," she cursed. "You picked a fight with a cyclops?"

"He was disgusting. He said he wanted to kill me so he could marry you. Do you even know what he said about you?"

"No, what?" Piper asked.

"I'm not telling you."

"Gods dammit Jason!"

Jason grinned and looked back at the rest of the group. That wiped the smile off of his face. They were talking amongst themselves. Well, Percy and Annabeth was. Nico was standing around, being his usual moody self. What bothered him was Leo. He was sitting down with the bags, staring blankly at nothing, his hands perfectly still, resting on the ground. He was looking at the ground, but the street lights made his wet cheeks shine. Leo was crying. Piper noticed this too, and walked up to him.

"Leo…?"

Leo's head whipped around. He looked mournful.

"Atlas," Leo whispered. "He… he just showed me something. It doesn't matter."

"It doesn't matter!" Piper cried indignantly. "Leo!"

Leo mustered a small smile.

"Beauty Queen…"

Jason knelt down.

"What happened Leo?"

"Nothing. Vision. It's nothing. I'm telling you."

Out of the corner of his eye, Annabeth noticed, and waved Nico and Percy over.

"Leo," Annabeth asked. "Are you ok?"

"GODS DAMMIT GUYS! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Leo's whole body burst into flames. Everyone yelped and jumped back. Leo didn't even notice.

"I SAW IT OK? I SAW CALYPSO DIE! SHE'S GOING TO DIE! AND ONLY I CAN SAVE HER! AND I CAN'T! I FREAKING CAN'T SAVE HER!"

Everyone watched in horror as Leo started to lift off the ground. Leo didn't even seem to notice. He was screaming. Clutching his head and screaming. His voice was raw with anguish as he continued to rise up. The flames engulfing his body, which were a burning orange a moment ago, were now pure white. He was about five metres high when Piper screamed.

"LEO!"

Leo looked down at her, and there was shock on his face. He cautiously lifted his hand and thrust it to the right, like he was pushing something. He jerked to the left. He looked at the others, who were still looking up at him. Piper had a hand over her mouth. Leo took a breath.

"You guys go to California without me. I… I'll meet you there. I need to be alone."

And just like that, Leo thrust his hands down, and shot up into the night sky.

 **AN**

 **If you have a hard time imagining it, just think of Leo as Johnny Storm from Fantastic Four. Or Iron Man I guess.**

 **Happy Reading XD**

 **~HannApple3**


	14. Chapter 14

Piper fled. She sprinted away as fast as she could. She could hear Jason calling out to her in a broken voice, but she heard no one following her. _Good_. She leaped over a bonnet of a car and kept running. She ran and ran until she reached a park, several kilometres away. She collapsed onto the damp grass and broke down. She sobbed. _Leo…_ she thought. She had seen so much pain in his eyes. So much anguish. How had Leo managed to hold in that sort of pain? How did he bear it? Was he going to be the same joking idiot he used to be? Piper thought about this. It sounded so much like…

"Piper," someone put a hand on her shoulder. Piper turned.

"Nico…" she said. "I… I'm sorry. I know we're on a tight schedule, but…"

"I just wanted to let you know that I know what you're thinking. You think he's broken. That Atlas broke him. That he won't be the same. That he will never be the same. It's not true."

Piper sniffed.

"What do you mean?"

"Leo was at his weakest. His anger brought out his power that shouldn't have been brought out. Pure chaos, revealed when you lose your loved ones. It has happened to me. It has happened to Percy as well. But it's not forever. It can be healed."

Piper looked at him.

"What happened with yours?"

Nico sat down.

"You might know what happened to my sister Bianca when I was ten. I started to have these dreams. They were horrible. A bit like what Leo told you before. I watched my sister die. This giant, a metal giant killed her. I saw it every night. And then Percy showed up and told me my sister was dead. I lost it. That's when it happened. There were some skeletons following Percy. They were killing machines that were no match for even Percy, and I caused the ground to swallow them up with two words."

Piper stared.

"Two words and the Earth split?"

"Yes."

"What happened to Percy?"

"Annabeth told you about this I believe. That time when Percy controlled those poisons?"

"Is that what happened to him?" Piper asked. "Was that why he lost control? Because of his chaos?"

"Yes. They were in Tartarus. Percy thought Annabeth was going to die. He snapped."

"But that doesn't make sense," Piper stood up, and began to walk back. Nico followed her. "99% of the time, demigods are going to die. What was so different about…"

"Piper," Nico said. "They were in Tartarus. In Akhlys' lair. That place radiates of misery. I've felt it. Whatever dismay Percy would have felt in normal circumstances, multiply that by a thousand. You wouldn't even be close to how it felt."

Piper felt heartless.

"Oh my gods. I'm sorry. So Percy…"

"He was chaos. An emotionless being with the power and will to completely obliterate a goddess in Tartarus. But Piper, that's beyond the point. Look at him now. He couldn't be happier. He has his whole life planned out for him with Annabeth."

"What about you?" Piper asked. "Did you ever recover?"

"I am recovering, Piper. Percy recovered quickly. He has Annabeth. I didn't have anyone for a long time. I still carry the anguish with me. But it's getting better."

Piper nodded.

"Does anyone else know? Gods Nico, if someone had known what happened… they could have helped you."

"Reyna knows. During out quest with the Athena Parthenos, she had to take some of my burden. She nearly fainted in doing it. Afterwards, she asked about it. I told her. Best thing I ever did. Having someone else share the burden. And that's what Leo needs. And you need to help him."

"I will," Piper said.

"Then we can start by heading off to California to meet him."

Together, they ran back.

"Piper!" Jason called, and sprinted to meet her. Piper cried out and launched herself into his arms.

"Jason, listen…"

"Piper," Nico laid a hand on her shoulder. "Not now. We have to go. We don't have time."

Piper nodded. Everyone bunched up together, and Nico closed his eyes. The world started spinning, and the world went black.

Nico's aim was perfect. They materialised smack in the middle of Camp Jupiter. Piper looked around. Everything was silent. That was definitely unusual. If there was one thing she knew, demigod camps were _never_ silent… unless something was wrong. Jason, Percy and Nico looked shell-shocked, and mad. Especially Jason, who probably was still very protective over his old camp.

"Something's wrong," Jason stated.

"Ya think?" Percy snorted. "Look, let's just look around. Find out what's going on. Hecate did tell Annabeth that something was keeping Hazel and Frank from leaving."

"Ok. Percy and Annabeth, you guys head off together," Jason told them. "Piper, you come with me. And Nico…"

The son of Hades looked up.

"Thank you Nico, for bringing us here. The quest would have been lost without you."

Nico nodded and turned his back to them, to walk away, but Piper called out.

"Nico, wait!" and tackled him in a hug. "Thank you Nico… for you know…"

Nico awkwardly patted Piper's back.

"You watch out for Leo."

"I will…"

And he vanished into the darkness back to Camp Half Blood. Piper turned to the rest, who were staring at her.

"Hazel and Frank! Come on guys!"

"Right," Annabeth said, and marched on, pulling a protesting Percy along with her. "Come on Seaweed Brain. Hazel and Frank."

"Yes Ma'am!"

Piper watched as Annabeth dragged Percy by the collar of his orange camp shirt and smiled. If Piper didn't know about what happened to Percy in Tartarus, she wouldn't have believed it. Nico was right when he said that you could recover from chaos. Piper could only hope that it would be that easy for Leo, especially since Calypso wasn't around.

"Piper?" Jason called from a few metres away. "I think… I think I know what happened."

Piper looked over at Jason, who was peeking his head into the Principia. Still deep in thought, Piper wondered inside.

"Piper…" Jason called warily from the doorway. Piper looked back at him.

"Wha… Oh My GODS!" Piper shrieked. She had just run straight into Frank… who was standing in the middle of the room, grinning at Hazel, who was at the back, studying scrolls with Reyna. They were all statues… ice statues… and that could only mean…

"Bonsoir Piper, ma chère. Ah! Jason! This is fantastique!" Khione laughed from behind Piper. Piper froze. Not literally… The hair at her neck was standing at its end with cold and anticipation. Without turning around, Piper laughed.

"Hello Khione! Come back for round two?"


	15. Chapter 15

"Where's the son of Hephaestus?" Khione asked, casually. Piper suspected, though, that she wanted to make sure he wasn't around when she attacked. Piper looked over her shoulder.

"He's on his way," Piper stated. "Took a detour. Don't worry. He'll be here soon."

"You liar," Khione sneered. "He's weeping isn't he? Crying like a little baby. Oh you entertain me mortals. So easy to snap."

Piper walked up to Hazel, and ran a finger along her cheek. Solid ice.

"And yet you can never seem to get the better of us. How does it feel Khione? To be weaker than an easily snapped mortal?"

"Don't you dare open your mouth!" Khione snapped, getting red in the face. "Keep your words to yourself, you wretched godling, or I will do it for you!"

Piper knew when to stop pressing Khione's buttons. Even she hated to admit it, Khione was capable of quite a lot if she was angry. And she was definitely on the verge of angry. Piper was just running through her head, a list of possibilities on how to get out of the situation, when Leo walked in. Piper gasped. She looked at Jason, who looked shocked. Leo's eyes were red, and had lost its joking humour. His jaw was set, and his teeth were clenched so hard Piper thought they would snap. He was as taut, like a drawn bowstring, ready to explode. His face, though, was expressionless. He regarded the Khione with a steely coolness.

"Hello Khione," he said in an even voice. "Nice day for trespassing and terrorising innocent demigods isn't it?"

"Leo Valdez," the goddess snarled. "You dare show your face? Bah! You are no match for me."

Khione waved her hand, and soon, a cyclone of snow and ice shards were swirling around her so fast it made Piper dizzy. Leo's expression didn't change. He willed his whole body to catch fire. And not the fire he normally summoned. This fire was white, on the verge of purple, like the kind he unleashed in Colorado. Khione looked shocked. Her expression changed from smug confidence to wavering nervousness.

"Valdez," she squeaked. "What are you playing at?"

"What am _I_ playing at?" Leo asked. "Nothing. You however, are playing with a great deal. More than you can control."

Outraged, Khione flew at Leo. Leo moved towards her, and in the air, fire and ice collided, and sent the Principia exploding.

Piper coughed the dust out of her lungs and blinked multiple times in attempt to clear her vision and stop the high pitched ringing in her ears. She looked around. Leo was standing above her, offering his hand to help her up. She took it shakily. When she found that she could stand on her own feet, she turned back to Leo.

"Leo listen…" she started, but Leo cut it off.

"Don't even. I'm going to tend to the frozen campers. You help Jason." He walked off, leaving Piper stunned. Since when was he so cold? For the love of the gods! He was turning into another Nico. As if they needed that. Piper wouldn't let that happen, but she had to set her priorities straight. She would talk to him when the time was right, when they all weren't in too much danger. She looked around for Jason. Debris was everywhere. Remains of the principia were scattered around her. Splinters from wooden boards, sharp celestial bronze wires that Piper had seen on the ceiling, suspending the lights, and a blanket of snow and ashes. How was Piper supposed to find Jason? Heck, how did Leo even find Piper? Sighing, she began digging around, hoping that Jason didn't impale himself with all the sharp odds and ends lying about.

Piper found Jason lying on his side. His back was shredded and bloody, and his scalp was a nightmare, sticky with red. Piper carefully rolled Jason onto his front, paying attention not to touch his back. Jason, who was passed out, moaned slightly at the movement. Piper's heart raced. What was she supposed to do? She didn't know the first thing about first aid. She struggled to open a band aid, and had a tendency to faint at the sight of raw flesh and pus.

"Oh gods," she panted. "Oh gods, oh gods, Jason…"

Not knowing what to do, Piper stripped off her jacket and covered his back, hoping it would reduce the chance of infection, even if only by a little bit, and to hide the sight from her eyes. Her jacket was soon soaked in blood, and was still oozing out. She reached into her back pocket, and surprisingly found a small smashed up square of ambrosia. Crying out in delight, she took it out of the zip lock bag and goaded it into Jason's mouth. Jason swallowed it and shifted. The wounds on his head closed up, and when Piper lifted the jacket up slightly, his back was slightly less sickening to look at. There was nothing more she could do for now. She would have to wait for the others to come back. Percy and Annabeth came running up to her after about five minutes.

"Piper! Are you kidding me? I leave you for like half an hour and you explode everything and render Jason unconscious?"

Piper raised her hands in surrender.

"Wasn't me," she told her. "It was Khione and Leo. They literally made everything explode." Percy's face brightened.

"Leo? He's here?"

"Yeah. He went to tend to the campers. They were all frozen."

"We figured that out as soon as we looked in the cabins. It was disgusting. There was a random guy frozen while kissing a girl. The nerve! My eyes are broken!" Percy wailed, clutching his eyes. Piper raised her eyebrows, reminding him that he was a lot worse than that when he was with Annabeth. Annabeth glanced at Jason and gasped.

"Holy… What happened to _him?_ I didn't think know was that bad…"

"The explosion. Somehow, it shredded his back. I gave him my jacket and a square of ambrosia. There wasn't much else could do. Annabeth reached into her coat pocket and brought out more ambrosia.

"I think we can risk it," she said. She turned to Piper. "You only gave him one, right?"

"Yeah," Piper told her. Annabeth nodded and shoved more through his lips rather harshly. Jason's back healed quickly, but he was still covered in dried blood. Annabeth looked at Percy pointedly.

"I suppose," Percy muttered. Piper thought it was sweet how the two were able to communicate without words. She refrained from squealing though. Percy stretched his hand out. Water pipes exploded and the water came gushing towards Jason, and promptly drenched it.

"Splurgh!" Jason coughed. His hair was plastered onto his forehead as he scrambled into a sitting position.

"What the heck man?" he demanded.

"Hush child! Stay still. Daddy's trying to give you a bath."

"Child!" he cried out indignantly. "I'm taller than you!"

"I'm still older," Percy countered, twirling his finger around in circles to keep the water moving, washing the blood off Jason. Before Jason could retort, Leo walked up to meet them, followed by an army of enraged demigods, and a dazed Hazel and Frank. Their eyes were wide, staring at Leo. Of course. They didn't know he was alive. Hazel saw the rest and stomped up too them.

"Guys," she demanded. "What on Earth is going on?


	16. Chapter 16

Hazel was still dazed, and Frank, sitting beside her, was still shivering uncontrollably. They were both wrapped up in blankets they had taken from their bunks. Hazel remembered that when she had went to retrieve her blanket from her cabin, everyone's beds stripped of its bedding as well. She wasn't surprised. It was a big surprise for the camp. To wake up from what seemed like a nice long nap, just to realise that you were freezing to death on a sunny day, and to later find out that camp was attacked by Khione, and that you were an ice statue for weeks. Hazel wasn't in the best of moods, but she was too drained and cold to make too much fuss. She listened half-heartedly as Annabeth did her best explaining what was going on in Delphi and Mount Orthrys. She couldn't help but glance at Leo through the corner of her eye. Hazel thought she was dreaming when she woke up with him right in front of her face. She would have thought she was crazy if Annabeth hadn't explained what happened after he 'died'. She so badly wanted to run over to him and embrace him, squeeze the life out of him and slap him upside the head for being the idiot he was, but he didn't look like her would appreciate that. He was sitting by the ruins of the principia, lighting bits of wood on fire, causing them to burn to ashes. He looked miserable, and isolated. It was obvious he wanted to be left alone. She looked back at Annabeth, who had stopped talking.

"Hazel," Annabeth sighed. "Were you even listening?"

"No," Hazel admitted. "Not really. I mean I was at the start, but…"

Annabeth groaned.

"You're almost as bad as Sea… doesn't matter. Will you help us with our quest?"

"Sure," Hazel shrugged. She didn't really care what it was about. Her friends needed her, and she wasn't about to say no, even if she had no idea what the quest was about. "How about you Frank? Frank? Are you okay?"

Frank had it worse than everyone else at camp, and Hazel had no clue why. He was still shaking Earthquakes and his lips were purple, and on the verge of blue. He looked up at Hazel when he heard his name.

"Ah-h-h-h what d-did you say-y?" He asked through chattering teeth. "Quest-t-t-t? Y-y-yeah-h s-sure, I'll c-come."

"No Frank. I asked if you were okay."

"I don't-t-t know-w. I Fe-e-el-l s-or-r-ta c-cold."

"Frank's definitely not okay. Hypothermia isn't meant to be that bad. At least it shouldn't affect a demigod this badly," Annabeth said as she looked at Frank with calculating eyes.

"Do you have your piece of wood with you Frank?" Annabeth asked. Frank nodded and untied the pouch from his belt and undid the drawstring. With trembling fingers, he took out his piece of firewood and dropped it immediately, shaking his smoky fingers. Hazel leaned over him to where he had dropped the bag, and cautiously reached over. She took the bag by the string and took the wood out. It was covered in a layer of ice, about 2cm thick. She dropped it when the cold started burning her fingers. It wasn't normal ice. Not the kind that would melt in regular warm temperature. Frank made a small sound from the back of his throat, and Hazel whipped her head around. Frank had collapsed to the ground, no longer shaking. His scalp seemed to be covered in what looked like snow, and the tips of his hair was collecting ice. Hazel screamed.

"Frank!" she yelled. "Frank! Leo! Help!"

Leo looked over and ran towards them. Annabeth crouched down on the other side of Frank and took his hand. Immediately she dropped it. She looked up at Leo, who was standing behind them.

"Leo, I need… Oh no, it wouldn't work. Fire… Percy!" Hazel called. Soon, Percy and Jason, was doing their best to help the other campers, came over.

"Hazel? What's… whoa! What happened to Frank?" Percy asked.

"Listen," Hazel told him. "I need your help for something. And Leo. I need you to try and light Frank's stick on fire."

Leo looked shocked and panicked.

"You want me to light Frank's stick on fire? Are we talking about the 'as soon as it burns out Frank dies' stick?"

"Yes. Percy can put the fire out as soon as it catches on fire, but you need to try it."

Leo's expression hardened.

"Hazel," he said. "Look at it. It's barely the size of a screw. If I light it on fire, Frank will die."

"He's going to die anyway!" Hazel shouted at him. "If you don't do try, he'll freeze to death. Please Leo!"

"I can't do it." Leo stated again. "You don't get it Hazel. I can't. I'm going to kill him. I can barely even control my fire anymore. I can barely light my finger on fire without… without it spreading around my whole body in an ugly white flame. I threw a single fireball at Khione and sent the whole principia exploding. If I so much as touch that firewood, he's going to die!"

Hazel looked up at Leo with anger driven tears. She stood up and prodded his chest with her finger.

"So you're going to let him die! I can't believe you! What sort of friend does that?! You make us help you with your stupid suicide mission! You let us live with it FOR A YEAR! AND NOW YOU'RE GOING TO LET FRANK DIE! YOU CAN GO ROT IN HELL LEO VALDEZ, FOR ALL I CARE. YOU CAN DIE IN TARTARUS AND I WOULDN'T EVEN TURN AROUND!"

Hazel sat down hard and buried her face in her hands. Frank was dying, and she couldn't do anything to stop it. A pair of arms wrapped around her. She looked up. It was Leo. He looked heartbroken as he looked over at Frank.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. Hazel wasn't sure if he was talking to her, or to Frank. "I'm so sorry." Still keeping one arm wrapped around Hazel's shoulder, he pointed a single finger at the piece of wood and grimaced in concentration. The ice started to melt around it.

And the stick burst into flames…


	17. Chapter 17

Hazel's scream could be heard through the entire camp. She stared in horror as flames engulfed Frank's lifeline. No sooner as it started, Percy flicked his hand up and sent a shot of water towards the piece of wood, extinguishing it, drenching it in a puddle of water. Hazel whimpered, covering her mouth with her hand. Percy looked up as if he had just realised all eyes were on him.

"What?" he asked incredulously. "You didn't really think I would let Frank die, did you?"

He acted so indifferent about the situation. Leo took a shaky breath.

"Thanks man," he said.

"S'okay."

Hazel looked at the stick, now no thicker than a blade of grass. Her eyes shifted to Frank. She reached a quivering hand out towards his face, brushing against his cheek gently with the tips of her fingers. Frank coughed unexpectedly. Hazel shot her head up hopefully.

"Frank?" she whispered. "Frank?"

Frank opened an eye, then two. He frowned. The ice had melted from his hair, and his temperature was back to normal. He sat up.

"Um guys? Why are you staring at me? And why was I on the floor?"

Hazel squeaked in a totally Hazel-like way and threw her arms around his neck. Confused, Frank wrapped his arms around her back. Hazel shut her tear filled eyes tight and held onto Frank for dear life. Leo approached them, his hand carefully cupped. Frank looked up and gently pushed away from Hazel to see what was wrong. Leo lowered his hands to reveal a tiny stick. It took Frank a second to realise. He choked on his own tongue.

"Is that…?"

"Yes," Leo said. "Um, sorry, but I had to light it to save your life."

"Oh my… it's so small."

"Yeah… sorry…" Leo said, raising a hand to rub his hand at the back of his neck nervously. Frank gave a short laugh.

"Don't worry about it man. You said it was to save my life right? So it's cool. Don't worry about it."

Hazel, still sitting in front of Frank, held out a hand to Leo. Leo dropped the stick into her hand. She picked up Frank's little pouch and carefully put the stick inside, pulling the string. She gave it back to Frank, who attached it back onto his belt.

"Thanks," Frank said. "Now what's this about saving my life? What happened? What did I miss?"

Percy grinned.

"Nothing man. You caught a cold. That's all. Leo here warmed you up."

Frank stared at him.

"I shudder to think what that means. Besides, what has that got to do with saving my life?"

Percy paused before replying.

"It was a bad cold. It's called _Khionimonia_. Ever heard for it?"

Frank stared more. Hazel stood up and held her hands up for Frank, pulling him up.

"I'll tell you later. Right now, we're needed for another quest. Right Annabeth?"

"Yeah," Annabeth said. "Another quest. We need us seven again. You game?"

"Bring it on," Frank said. "Enlighten me?"

"Woah. How is it even possible for the Gods to screw up that fast? I mean didn't we just save them like… not long ago?" Frank asked. Percy snorted.

"I know right? I should have asked them about that when we defeated Kronos," he snickered. Annabeth punched him in the shoulder, which of course, left her shaking her hand in pain, while Percy acted as if nothing had happened. Stupid invulnerability!

"Stop it Percy!" she reprimanded, still massaging her hand. "The gods aren't deaf, you know." Percy grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry Wise Girl. Couldn't help it," he shrugged. Annabeth glared at him.

"Gods dammed idiot," she muttered. Percy gasped, his hand over his heart.

"That hurts Annabeth!" he moaned. "That right here!"

Jason, who was watching silently, suddenly cracked up. Everyone's eyes were on him as he doubled over, hugging his stomach in laughter.

"Man! You are so whipped!" he exclaimed. Percy frowned, confused.

"…Um, is that a bad thing?"

Annabeth nodded, obviously pleased, while Piper walked up and smacked Jason across the shoulder.

"Damn it Jason! It was starting to get romantic!" she squealed. "Annabeth was just about to roll her eyes at him, and kiss him!"

Annabeth crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.

"Says who?" she asked indifferently.

"Says a daughter of Aphrodite," she countered, crossing her arms too.

"Jason!" Percy barked. "You have the worst timing in the world! I was just about to get some!"

Hazel suddenly got up and ran. Confused, everyone looked at her. She stopped about 100 metres away, next to Leo, who had slipped off when no one had noticed. Frank frowned and started to follow, but Piper grabbed the front of his shirt.

"Personal privacy Frank," she said, wagging her finger in his face.

"But Hazel's my girl–"

"Let them talk it out Frank," Annabeth intervened before he could say anything else. "Something's definitely not right with him."

Piper nodded.

"Nico said it was his chaos. It's the same thing that happened to him. Actually, he said it happened to Percy as well."

Percy raised his eyebrows at her, before realisation overtook his features. He must have figured out what she was talking about. He looked at Annabeth, who pursed her lips.

"Look, let's forget about that now. We should start planning ahead for this quest. Hecate mentioned a boat I think. She said we needed Percy's help."

All eyes were on Percy. He looked out at the sea on the far end of camp. He looked over at Hazel.

"Hazel!" he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. Hazel stood up from the bench she was sitting on, next to Leo, and looked at Percy questioningly. "We'll be over there," pointing to the body of water. She nodded and sat back down. Percy started to walk in that direction, looking back to make sure that everyone was following him. Frank, who was following at the back, was shaking his head.

"Hazel's not going to be very happy about this boat thing. I hope it's not as bad as last time," he said out of nowhere. Percy frowned.

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that. But I don't think we have a choice."

"Yeah. Yeah ok."


End file.
